Compliance
Nicotine Vending Compliance for 21+ Venues
The rules that decide eligibility, in plain English, with the primary sources attached.
Federal rules restrict tobacco-product vending to facilities where people under 21 are not present or permitted to enter at any time. New Mexico separately contemplates tobacco-product vending in age-controlled locations where minors are not permitted, alongside licensing, signage and age-verification requirements. Local rules can be stricter than either.
The federal floor
The FDA's retail rules are the starting point everywhere in the United States. In substance, tobacco products may not be sold from a vending machine in any facility where individuals under 21 are present or permitted to enter at any time. The federal minimum purchase age is 21 nationwide.
Two things follow that venues often get wrong:
- “Under-21 guests are not usually here” is not the test. The rule is about who is permitted to enter, at any time — including afternoons, private hire and family events.
- Verification at the machine does not substitute for the door policy. An ID check at the point of sale is a second control, not a route around the first.
New Mexico
New Mexico's Tobacco Products Act expressly contemplates tobacco-product vending in age-controlled locations where minors are not permitted. Alongside that sit tobacco retail licensing, required signage at vending locations, and age and identity verification requirements. The statute text is linked below; it is worth reading rather than taking our summary of it.
Where federal and local law allows, Afterwrk holds the tobacco retail licence registered to the venue's address and handles the permitting. What the venue supplies is written permission to operate there.
Nevada — why we are not placing machines there yet
Nevada Department of Taxation guidance currently states that an other-tobacco-products vending machine is not permissible under Nevada's licensing framework, because the legislature has not established that authorization. Afterwrk lists Nevada as a planned market, but we will not place a machine there unless and until that position changes or counsel confirms a lawful route. We would rather say that than take an application we cannot fulfil.
Arizona
Arizona is a planned expansion market. We are not accepting placements there yet, and no Arizona venue should read anything on this site as an offer of service.
Official sources
Every legal statement above traces to one of these. Each carries the date we last read it.
- FederalU.S. Food and Drug Administration
Selling tobacco products in retail stores
Sets out federal retail requirements, including that tobacco products may not be sold from vending machines in any facility where people under 21 are present or permitted to enter at any time.
View the source → - FederalU.S. Food and Drug Administration
Tobacco 21
The federal minimum age to purchase any tobacco product is 21, nationwide, with no grandfathering.
View the source → - New MexicoNM Regulation & Licensing Department — ABC
Alcoholic Beverage Control division
The New Mexico division that administers alcohol and tobacco licensing, including the Tobacco Products Act.
View the source → - New MexicoNM Regulation & Licensing Department — ABC
Laws, rules and regulations
Index of the statutes and rules the division administers, including current tobacco rules.
View the source → - New MexicoState of New Mexico
Tobacco Products Act (NMSA 61, Article 37)
Statute text covering tobacco licensing, vending-machine placement in age-controlled locations, signage and age verification.
View the source → - NevadaNevada Department of Taxation
Vending machine / other tobacco products FAQ
States that an other-tobacco-products vending machine is not permissible under Nevada's current licensing framework, because the legislature has not established that authorization.
View the source →
Last reviewed . A person rechecks the sources before this date changes.
Find out where your venue stands
The assessment is built around these rules, so the answer you get back reflects them.