March 20, 2014
Carson City, NV - Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto announced today that on March 19, 2014, Henry Igwe, 55 , of Las Vegas, was found guilty of sale of tobacco to a minor.
“The health and safety of Nevada’s minors is something this Office takes very seriously,” stated General Masto. “To that end, we are dedicated to ensuring Nevada’s youth tobacco access laws are enforced. Retailers who choose to sell tobacco products to minors will be cited and appropriately prosecuted.”
On November 7, 2013, Mr. Igwe sold cigarettes to a 17-year-old minor during a routine compliance check by the office. A misdemeanor trial was conducted in front of Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Diana Sullivan who found Mr. Igwe guilty of the misdemeanor of sale of tobacco to a minor and imposed a total fine of $343.00.
Under Nevada law, it is illegal for retailers to distribute or sell tobacco products to minors under the age of 18. The Office of the Attorney General and its Tobacco Enforcement Unit has been tasked with enforcing this statute, and conducts over two thousand undercover compliance checks each year to ensure retailer compliance.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), tobacco use continues to be the leading cause of preventable death, causing more than 480,000 deaths each year in the United States. Nearly 9 out of 10 smokers start smoking by age 18, putting an emphasis on the importance of limiting youth access to tobacco products. Visit http://www.cdc.gov/TOBACCO/youth/index.htm to learn more about the CDC’s efforts to prevent youth tobacco use.
The case was handled by the Attorney General’s tobacco Enforcement unit; Senior Deputy Attorneys General Alicia Lerud and Denise McKay.
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