Press Release
Attorney General Stephen Cox Warns Alaska Tobacco Retailers Against Selling Illegal Products
March 4, 2026
(Anchorage, Alaska)- Attorney General Stephen J. Cox has sent correspondence to over 1500 Alaskan tobacco retailers and distributors that may be selling illegal tobacco products, most of which are originating from China. These products include electronic smoking devices (also known as vapes or e-cigarettes), and oral nicotine pouches. The Department’s goal is straightforward: get unauthorized products off Alaska shelves—especially products marketed to kids—and keep them out.
Alaska has been flooded with vapes and pouches that have never received FDA approval.
“Flavored disposable vapes and nicotine pouches found in convenience stores, smoke shops, and grocery stores around Alaska are largely manufactured and imported illegally into the United States from China,” said Alaska Attorney General Stephen Cox. “The companies that manufacture these products have not undergone the FDA-mandated marketing order process, so they cannot be sold in our State.”
Federal law requires manufacturers to obtain authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration before these products may be marketed or sold in the United States. Without FDA review, product ingredients cannot be verified to ensure that the public has accurate information about adverse health effects. Each flavor of a product must receive separate authorization because the different flavoring agents may cause different health effects. If a manufacturer won’t submit to scientific review, Alaska retailers should not carry its products.
The letter asks retailers to review its enclosed FDA-authorized lists and to ensure they are not displaying for sale, selling, shipping, or assisting in the sale or distribution of illegal products. To date, as the letter states, only 39 vapes and 26 nicotine pouches are authorized for sale in the United States. Access an up-to-date, searchable FDA database for authorized products.
Alaska’s children and young adults are particularly at risk from the sale and marketing of unauthorized and illegal vapes and nicotine pouches. These products come in fruit or candy flavors which are particularly appealing to younger users. Some of the vapes include video games that encourage youth to earn virtual coins by vaping. And the packaging for nicotine pouches often mimics that of candy or mints. This is not accidental design. It’s marketing with a crooked intent.
Adolescents who use nicotine are at risk of developing nicotine poisoning, nicotine addiction, respiratory issues, and brain damage impacting their attention, learning, mood, and impulse control. And young children who accidentally get their hands on these products may experience fatal nicotine poisoning.
“Retailers and distributors are now on notice that the Law Department takes the health of our youth very seriously,” said Attorney General Stephen Cox. “We will vigorously enforce Alaska’s laws designed to protect them. Retailers and distributors must not sell or distribute e-cigarettes or nicotine pouches that have not received FDA approval.”
The public should take care to dispose of these products appropriately, as they are considered hazardous materials. The vapes contain lithium batteries that can cause fires when damaged by trash compactors or during transportation to waste facilities. Consumers who unknowingly purchased these products should keep this in mind, as should retailers when pulling products from shelves. Please review the information in the following link describing how to safely dispose of them.
To report businesses that may be selling these unauthorized and illegal e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches, file a complaint with the Department of Law’s Consumer Protection Unit at by visiting its website or calling 907-269-5200.
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Department Media Contact: Information Officer Sam Curtis at sam.curtis@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6269.