Stores across Indiana would face tougher penalties for selling tobacco products to anyone under 21 under a bill endorsed by the Indiana House.
The additional penalties are part of a bill increasing Indiana’s minimum age for smoking and vaping from 18 to 21 to conform with a new federal law. The proposal would boost the fine against a retailer for a first violation from a $200 maximum to a minimum of $500.
A third violation within three years would carry a minimum $1,000 fine and a three-year loss of the store’s tobacco sales certificate. House members voted 84-14 Tuesday for the bill. The Senate”s considering its own bill.
