Attorney General Kris Mayes announced on Mar. 9 that the Attorney General’s Office issued 451 criminal citations to clerks and businesses for selling tobacco products to minors during fiscal year 2025, following nearly 1,900 inspections across every county in Arizona.
The announcement highlights ongoing efforts to enforce laws prohibiting the sale of tobacco and nicotine products to individuals under age 21. The operation aims to protect youth health and maintain compliance among retailers statewide.
“Selling tobacco and nicotine products to children is illegal, and my office will not look the other way,” Mayes said. “We’re going after the worst offenders, and we’re putting every retailer in Arizona on notice that they must follow the law.”
Operation Counter Strike, a partnership between the Attorney General’s Office and the Arizona Department of Health Services since 2002, uses youth volunteers accompanied by investigators to conduct compliance checks at tobacco retailers throughout Arizona. Retailers who violate these laws face criminal citations and fines up to $1,000 per offense. In fiscal year 2025, the program recorded a statewide failure rate of 13.6 percent among inspected retailers. The Attorney General’s Office also filed consumer fraud lawsuits against two businesses identified as repeat violators: Pro Source and New York Smoke Shop.
A list of retailers with high failure rates was released, including Bob’s Vape and Smoke Shop in Phoenix, Chevron Food Mart in Yuma, Noah Smoke Shop in Phoenix, Haus of Vapors in Phoenix, Gravitate Smoke Shop in Gilbert, Z Market Smoke Shop in Tucson, Head East Smoke Shop in Tucson, Vapor Etc. in Maricopa, Food City in Casa Grande, Chevron in Green Valley, Skywater Smoke Shop in Mesa, Pilot Travel Center in Quartzsite, and Super Gas Mini-Mart in Somerton. Full inspection data is available at az.countertools.org/retailers-public.
The Operation Counter Strike program also helps safeguard more than $50 million annually in federal funding for substance abuse and mental health services within Arizona.
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office addresses issues such as elder abuse, civil rights violations, unsolved crimes through its cold case unit—contributing to community protection across the state according to the official website. It functions as Arizona’s primary legal entity offering advocacy and protection for residents according to the official website. Kris Mayes serves as Arizona’s 27th attorney general and is noted as the first mother to hold this position according to the official website.
The office delivers comprehensive legal services statewide according to the official website, participates in federal action lawsuits supporting initiatives like fair housing and accountability measures for social media companies according to the official website, and serves as Arizona’s chief legal office with responsibilities for legal protections across all counties according to the official website.
Arizonans who suspect a retailer is selling tobacco or e-cigarettes to minors are encouraged to file complaints at www.azag.gov/consumer.
