Guide
What New Mexico Does About Unlicensed and Underage Tobacco Sales
The exposure a venue should ask about is not a fine on a price list. It is who the licensed seller is when something goes wrong.
Under § 61-37-18, a person who manufactures, distributes or sells tobacco products without a license required by the Tobacco Products Act is guilty of a misdemeanor, sentenced under § 31-19-1 NMSA 1978, and contraband seized as evidence is retained and disposed of under the Forfeiture Act. Separately, § 61-37-3(A) prohibits selling or giving a tobacco product to a minor knowingly, intentionally or negligently, and § 61-37-14(A) makes failing to verify a purchaser's age a violation in its own right.
Three separate duties
The Act does not roll these together, and a venue evaluating its exposure should not either.
| Selling without a license | § 61-37-18 — misdemeanor, sentenced under § 31-19-1; seized product handled under the Forfeiture Act. |
|---|---|
| Selling to a minor | § 61-37-3(A) — a person shall not knowingly, intentionally or negligently sell, offer to sell, barter or give a tobacco product to a minor. |
| Failing to verify age | § 61-37-14(A) — a retailer or employee shall not knowingly, intentionally or negligently fail to verify the age of a consumer purchasing tobacco products. |
The word doing the most work is negligently. It appears in both § 61-37-3(A) and § 61-37-14(A), which means an arrangement that simply did not think about verification is not obviously outside the provision.
What else the Act restricts
- Products must be sold in the original manufacturer-sealed package, except individually sold cigars or loose leaf pipe tobacco (§ 61-37-3(B)).
- Nicotine liquid must be in child-resistant packaging, unless it is in a pre-filled manufacturer-sealed cartridge not intended to be opened (§ 61-37-3(C)).
- A manufacturer shall not produce, and a distributor or retailer shall not sell, tobacco products knowingly attractive to minors (§ 61-37-3(D)).
- Distributing tobacco products as free samples is prohibited (§ 61-37-16).
Why this is a question about the agreement
Each of these attaches to a role — the retailer, the licensee, the employee — rather than to whoever owns the building. So the practical question for a venue is not “what is the fine,” it is who is the retailer at this machine, and does the agreement say so in writing. If the answer is vague, the exposure is vague.
The questions to put to any operator before signing →
How Afterwrk handles it
Afterwrk is the licensed seller in its arrangements, owns the stock, and runs the verification at the machine on every transaction. The venue's duty is the one it already performs: keeping the premises restricted to guests 21 and over at all times. What each side is responsible for is set out in the venue agreement rather than assumed.
Last reviewed . A person rechecks the sources before this date changes.
Common questions
Is an underage sale from a machine treated differently from one over the counter?
The Act's prohibitions attach to the retailer and the sale, not to the format. The vending-specific restriction is § 61-37-15, which limits where a machine may be at all.
Does the venue get penalised for the operator's failure?
That depends on who the licensed retailer is and on what the agreement says. It is the single most important thing to have in writing before installation.
What is a misdemeanor sentence under § 31-19-1?
Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978 sets the general sentencing provision the Act refers to. Read it, or ask counsel, rather than relying on a summary.
See whether your venue qualifies
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