ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Gas station and convenience store clerks may want to start checking customers' I.D. more often when selling vape products because St. Louis County wants to crack down hard on sales to underage vapers.
St. Louis County Council originally wanted to ban the use of the trending tobacco product, which creates a vaper intead of smoke, to anyone under 21-years-old. But that bill was walked back.
"No one wanted to punish or criminalize the young people," Councilman Ernie Trakas says. "I heard that loud and clear so we made the changes necessary to remove that piece of it."
Trakas says the St. Louis County Health Department will conduct sting operations to make sure retailers are checking identification.
Stores could face hefty fines or even lose their business license if caught selling to underage people.
"No retailer who wants to stay in business can afford to incur the fines and penalities and licence revocations," Trakas says. "The bill has significant teeth."