AK Stat § 11.76.106 (2024)

Title 11. Criminal Law > Chapter 76. Miscellaneous Offenses > Section 11.76.106. Selling tobacco, electronic smoking products, or products containing nicotine outside controlled access
Universal Citation: AK Stat § 11.76.106 (2024)

(a) Except as provided under (b) of this section, a person may not sell cigarettes, cigars, tobacco, products containing tobacco, electronic smoking products, or products containing nicotine unless the sale occurs in a manner that allows only the sales clerk to control access to the cigarettes, cigars, tobacco, products containing tobacco, electronic smoking products, or products containing nicotine.
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply if the sale (1) is by vending machine as provided under AS 11.76.100 (b) or 11.76.109 (d); (2) is a wholesale transaction, the person is licensed as a manufacturer or distributor under AS 43.50.010, and the sale occurs on premises where no retail transactions occur; (3) is by a retailer who sells primarily cigarettes, cigars, tobacco, products containing tobacco, electronic smoking products, or products containing nicotine and who restricts access to the premises to only those individuals who are 19 years of age or older; or (4) is of electronic smoking products over the Internet to a person 19 years of age or older.
(c) A person who violates this section is guilty of a violation and upon conviction is subject to a fine of not less than $300. 

AK Stat § 43.70.075 (2024)

Title 43. Revenue and Taxation > Chapter 70. [Licensing Chapter] > Section 43.70.075. Business license endorsement for sale via vending machines

(a) Unless a person has a business license endorsement issued under this section for each location or outlet in a location where the person offers tobacco products, electronic smoking products, or products containing nicotine for sale, a person may not sell or allow a vending machine to sell in its location or outlet cigarettes, cigars, tobacco, products containing tobacco, electronic smoking products, or products containing nicotine as a retailer at that location or outlet.
(b) The department, upon payment of a fee of $100, shall issue a business license endorsement to a person who applies for a business license under this chapter, and may renew the endorsement issued under this subsection for a fee of $100. The endorsement expires at the same time as the license to which it attaches. Upon issuance of an endorsement, the department shall also issue to the person receiving the endorsement notice of the penalties that may be imposed under this section. If a hearing is not requested, or if a hearing is requested and the department determines that the evidence admitted does not support increasing or decreasing the suspension, the department shall suspend the endorsement for a period of (1) 20 days and impose a civil penalty of $500 if the person has not been previously convicted of violating AS 11.76.100, 11.76.106, 11.76.107, or 11.76.109 and is not otherwise subject to the sanctions described in (2) - (4) of this subsection; (2) 45 days and impose a civil penalty of $2,000 if, within the 24 months before the date of the department's notice under (m) of this section, the person, or an agent or employee of the person while acting within the scope of the agency or employment of the person, was convicted once of violating AS 11.76.100, 11.76.106, 11.76.107, or 11.76.109; (3) 90 days and impose a civil penalty of $4,000 if, within the 24 months before the date of the department's notice under (m) of this section, the person, or an agent or employee of the person while acting within the scope of the agency or employment of the person, was convicted twice of violating AS 11.76.100, 11.76.106, 11.76.107, or 11.76.109, or a provision of this section or a regulation implementing this section adopted under AS 43.70.090; or (4) one year and impose a civil penalty of $10,000 if, within the 24 months before the date of the department's notice under (m) of this section, the person, or an agent or employee of the person while acting within the scope of the agency or employment of the person, was convicted three or more times of violating AS 11.76.100, 11.76.106, 11.76.107, or 11.76.109.
(e) If a person who receives an endorsement under this section has multiple retail locations or outlets in a location, a suspension or revocation imposed under this section applies only to the retail outlet in the location in which the violation occurs.
(f) A person who holds a license endorsement issued under this section shall post on the licensed premises a warning sign as described in this subsection. A warning sign required by this subsection must be at least 8.5 inches by 11 inches and must read: “The sale of electronic smoking products or products containing nicotine without a prescription or tobacco products to persons under age 19 is illegal.” A person holding an endorsement issued under this section shall display the warning sign in a manner conspicuous to a person purchasing or consuming tobacco products, electronic smoking products, or products containing nicotine on the licensed premises. The department shall make available the warning signs required under this section to a person who holds an endorsement issued under this section or a person who requests the sign with the intention of displaying it.
(g) A person who is required to hold a business license endorsement under this section, or who is required to be licensed or agrees to be licensed under AS 43.50.010, or an agent or employee of the person, may not (1) sell cigarettes to another person unless the cigarettes are sold in groups of at least 20 and the cigarettes are in the manufacturer's original cigarette pack or contained in a cigarette carton or box; or (2) sell or possess cigarettes if the cigarette package (A) differs in any respect from the requirements of 15 U.S.C. 1331–1341 (Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act) for the placement of warnings or of any other information upon a package of cigarettes that is sold within the United States; (B) is labeled “For Export Only,” “U.S. Tax Exempt,” “For Use Outside U.S.,” or with similar wording indicating that the manufacturer did not intend that the product be sold in the United States; this subparagraph does not apply to cigarettes sold or intended to be sold as duty-free merchandise by a duty-free sales enterprise under 19 U.S.C. 1555(b); however, this subparagraph does apply to duty‑free cigarettes that are brought back into the state for resale in the state; (C) has been altered by adding, masking, or deleting wording described in (B) of this paragraph.
(h) A violation of (g) of this section is an unfair or deceptive act or practice under AS 45.50.471.
(i) The commissioner or the commissioner of revenue may seize cigarettes, electronic smoking products, or products containing nicotine that do not comply with this section. After notice and an opportunity for a hearing, the commissioner or the commissioner of revenue shall destroy cigarettes, electronic smoking products, or products containing nicotine seized under this subsection.
(j) A person who violates (g) of this section is guilty of a class B misdemeanor.
(k) If a person, or an agent or employee of the person while acting within the scope of the agency or employment of the person, violates a provision of (a) or (g) of this section, the department may suspend the person's business license endorsement or right to obtain a business license endorsement for a period of not more than (1) 45 days; or (2) 90 days if, within the 24 months before the date of the department's notice under (m) of this section, the person, or an agent or employee of the person while acting within the scope of the agency or employment of the person, violates a provision of (a) or (g) of this section.
(l) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, a person owning vending machines that offer tobacco products, electronic smoking products, or products containing nicotine for sale need obtain only one business license endorsement under this section even if the person has vending machines in more than one outlet or location in the state. The person who owns a vending machine that offers tobacco products, electronic smoking products, or products containing nicotine for sale and the person who owns the premises where the vending machine is located are both required to obtain a business license endorsement issued under this section. If the endorsement of the person owning the vending machine is suspended or revoked, the person may not sell cigarettes, cigars, products containing tobacco, electronic smoking products, or products containing nicotine during the period of suspension or revocation through the use of vending machines at the location or outlet where the violation occurred. During the period of suspension or revocation, the person owning that vending machine may not use that machine to sell tobacco products, electronic smoking products, or products containing nicotine at another location or outlet.
(m) The department may initiate suspension of a business license endorsement or the right to obtain a business license endorsement under this section by sending the person subject to the suspension a notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by delivering the notice to the person. The notice must contain information that informs the person of the grounds for suspension, the length of any suspension sought, and the person's right to administrative review. A suspension begins 30 days after receipt of notice described in this subsection unless the person delivers a timely written request for a hearing to the department in the manner provided by regulations of the department. If a hearing is requested under this subsection, an administrative law judge of the office of administrative hearings (AS 44.64.010) shall determine the issues by using the preponderance of the evidence test and shall, to the extent they do not conflict with regulations adopted under AS 44.64.060, conduct the hearing in the manner provided by regulations of the department.