Smoking

IOWA CITY SMOKING VIOLATIONS ARE GOING CRIMINAL. THOSE WHO RECEIVE A SMOKING CITATION FROM POLICE WILL NOW FACE A CRIMINAL MISDEMEANOR INSTEAD OF A CIVIL INFRACTION. ALTHOUGH THIS CHANGE CARRIES A CHEAPER FINE, IT COULD MEAN AN INCREASE IN SMOKING CITATIONS IN DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY. DAILY IOWAN TV’s KATIE STINSON HAS THE DETAILS.

Downtown Iowa City’s Tobacco Bowl is a safe haven for smokers being the only establishment in
downtown Iowa City where indoor smoking is permitted. But take a couple steps outside the bowl and suddenly you’re facing a $50 fine on top of newly imposed criminal charges.

At last week’s Iowa City City Council meeting councilor’s approved changing the city’s smoking violation from a civil to criminal offense. Violators will now see a cheaper fine of $50, but also an increase in ticketing since police now only carry one citation pad instead of two.

“This allows them to do it on the same pad they were doing for a PAULA, for jay walking, for whatever else they’re writing tickets for downtown, and so I think that’s a valuable reason. So now we may see more smoking tickets being given out.”

Police say the old civil penalty process was confusing and inefficient. Offenders could even refuse their smoking citation, but now that the offense is criminal police can make smoking arrests and the city pays less to cite.

“There’s also filing fees associated with that that the city incurred. So, in order for us to cite someone we actually were paying to cite people.”

This year, police have issued only 19 smoking citations but are hopeful the new criminal process will help them to more efficiently curtail smoking. Katie Stinson, Daily Iowan TV.