POLICE TO BEGIN TOBACCO CRACKDOWN

ANKENY - Starting Saturday, the Police Department will crack down
on underage tobacco users.

Police Chief Paul Scranton announced the strict enforcement policy
Wednesday, saying that police have an important role to ensure that
youths comply with tobacco laws. Scranton said police will simply
start enforcing the state law, which levies a $25 fine for anyone
under 18 who has tobacco products.

"Currently, we have left it to the officer's discretion and that's not
a bad thing. But there are certain infractions that we need to be
very consistent in the message we give out. I just made it mandatory
enforcement," he said.

The police chief decided to start the policy after a review of
underage-tobacco citations made it clear that Ankeny police weren't
enforcing the law. "In the last 12 months, I think we have 13
citations on the books," he said. "Based on those numbers, we are
doing ourselves a disservice. . . . I have always been a proponent of
strict enforcement of tobacco laws. Tobacco is a gateway drug."

Scranton said statistics show that a child who smokes tobacco is 17
times more likely to use marijuana.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry