Lights out for single cigarette sales

Sorry, smokers, but your chance to buy an individual cigarette at the Den has been snuffed out.

The downtown Iowa City store, 123 E. Washington St., started selling cigarettes by the stick about three weeks ago and put up a sign on its front window last week advertising the deal.

Problem is, Iowa law requires cigarettes to be sold in packages of 20 or more.

After The Gazette inquired about the practice Wednesday, Den manager Dave Hill did some research and called back and said he didn't know it was illegal and the store would stop. The sign was down and six sealed jars storing cigarettes were removed later in the day.

“We advertised for it for our customers so they could have a better deal,” he said.

It's an issue that has popped up only a couple of times in the past few years, according to the Iowa Department of Revenue, which tracks compliance with the state's tobacco law.

Dale Thede, the department's program manager for excise taxes, said every once in a while a business will sell individual cigarettes, usually in response to customer interest and as a money maker.

“I don't think it's a major issue,” he said.

Repeat offenders can face up to a $1,000 fine, but violations have been quickly corrected with a phone call instead, he said.

The law was changed in 2007, when the tobacco tax was increased, to require cigarettes be sold at least 20 to a pack. Even before then, individual cigarette sales were not allowed but small packs were. but public health advocates worried the small packs were attractive to youths.

Forty-two states and the District of Columbia prohibit selling cigarettes individually, according to the American Lung Association.

The Gazette did spot checks at nine businesses in Iowa City, Coralville and Cedar Rapids and found only the Den selling individual cigarettes.

Hill said the Den started selling them after hearing of a couple of other places doing so and having some customers ask about it. He said people didn't want to pay for a full pack and thought they might smoke less if they had fewer cigarettes on them.

“That's the biggest thing, especially with everybody so health conscious nowadays - and the way the economy is going,” he said.

A Gazette reporter bought a Newport cigarette at the Den for 70 cents, which included tax. That would total $14 for 20 cigarettes, compared with $6.49 per pack plus tax at the store.

The Gazette's Spencer Willems contributed to this report.