The Iowa Attorney General’s office announced another agreement this week with a retailer to get tougher in its efforts to prevent cigarette sales to minors. A-G spokesman Bob Brammer says Shell Oil has agreed to the measure in 78 of its gas stations and convenience stores in Iowa, and others across the country.

Brammer says it’s against the law to sell cigarettes to kids, but stats show that almost half the kids that smoke get their cigarettes from a convenience store. But, he says the kids get the cigarettes from friend who work at the stores or from employees who don’t follow the law as closely as they should.

Brammer says Shell has agreed to steps to tighten things up. He says they’ll do more training, and make independent compliance checks, while instituting sanctions or fines against those stores that sell to minors. Brammer says this is part of an ongoing effort to cut off sales to kids.

Brammer says there are a few more tobacco selling chains, but he says more than 94-thousand retail outlets across the country have gotten tougher on selling tobacco to kids. Brammer says it’s important to prevent kids from smoking as studies show that will make them less likely to smoke as adults.