Amid concern from the Iowa City City Council and a flurry of new tobacco and vape shops, the City of Iowa City will stop issuing new tobacco permits through the end of the year. The moratorium will begin around June 4 and run for about seven months through Jan. 1, 2025. The pause will allow the council to study and determine "the best ways to mitigate the harmful impacts of tobacco, tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, and vapor products on public health." The Iowa City City Council has scheduled an...

The Iowa City City Council issued a moratorium, or temporary suspension, of new retail tobacco licenses until Jan. 1, 2025, to complete a study on how to best mitigate nicotine and tobacco’s effects on the city’s public health. The city has seen an increased number of retail outlets that primarily sell tobacco, nicotine, and vapor products, according to the city council agenda. Because of this, the city council wants to study ways to mitigate the impact of tobacco and nicotine-related products. Councilor Andrew Dunn said there were other concerns with...