GroundRules
← Search the law
Kentucky · Snapshot 09/05/2026

KRS 438.305: Definitions for KRS 438.305 to 438.350.

Read at publisher ↗
Where this section sits in the code
  1. KRS Chapter 438

As used in KRS 438.305 to 438.350, unless the context requires otherwise:

(1) (a) "Alternative nicotine product" means a noncombustible product containing

nicotine that is intended for human consumption, whether chewed, absorbed,

dissolved, or ingested by any other means.

(b) "Alternative nicotine product" does not include any product regulated as a

drug or device by the United States Food and Drug Administration under

Chapter V of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act;

(2) "Authorized nicotine vapor product" me ans a vapor product for which the

manufacturer:

(a) Has obtained authorization from the FDA;

(b) Timely pursued a path to market for a nicotine product containing tobacco -

derived nicotine that was commercially marketed in the United States as of

August 8, 2016, for which the manufacturer submitted a premarket tobacco

product application on or before September 9, 2020, to the FDA, that:

1. Remains under review, but has not received either a marketing denial

order or a marketing granted order; or

2. Has received a marketing denial order, but remains under a stay by the

FDA or continues to be subject to an appeal to the FDA or review by a

court of competent jurisdiction; or

(c) Has obtained a marketing denial order that has been rescinded by the FDA or

vacated by a court of competent jurisdiction;

(3) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage

Control;

(4) "Contraband property" means any article, item, or property, except real property,

that is used or intended to be used in violation of KRS 438.305 to 438.350;

(5) "Department" means the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control;

(6) "Distributor" or "wholesaler" means any person who distributes alternative nicotine

products, tobacco products, or authorized nicotine vapor products for the purpose of

being sold at retail;

(7) "FDA" means the United States Food and Drug Administration;

(8) "Investigator" means any employee of the department who is a certified peace

officer;

(9) "Manufacturer" means any person who manufactur es or produces tobacco products

within or without this Commonwealth;

(10) "Nonresident wholesaler" means any person who purchases cigarettes or other

tobacco products directly from the manufacturer and maintains a permanent

location or locations outside th is state at which Kentucky cigarette tax evidence is

attached or from which Kentucky cigarette tax is reported and paid;

(11) "Premises" means the land and building upon which any business operating under

KRS 438.305 to 438.350 is operated;

(12) "Proof of age" means a driver's license or other documentary or written evidence of

an individual's age;

(13) "Resident wholesaler" means any person who purchases at least seventy -five

percent (75%) of all cigarettes or other tobacco products purchased by that perso n

directly from the cigarette manufacturer on which the cigarette tax provided for in

KRS 138.130 to 138.205 is unpaid, and who maintains an established place of

business in this state at which the person attaches cigarette tax evidence or receives

untaxed cigarettes;

(14) "Retailer" means any person who sells tobacco products, alternative nicotine

products, or vapor products to a consumer for any purpose other than resale;

(15) "Sample" means a tobacco product, alternative nicotine product, or vapor produ ct

distributed to members of the general public at no cost;

(16) "Subjobber" means any person who purchases tobacco products, on which the

Kentucky cigarette tax has been paid, from a wholesaler licensed pursuant to KRS

138.195, and makes them available to a retail establishment for resale;

(17) (a) "Tobacco product" means any cigarette, cigar, snuff, smokeless tobacco

product, smoking tobacco, chewing tobacco, and any kind or form of tobacco

prepared in a manner suitable for chewing or smoking, or both, or any kind or

form of tobacco that is suitable to be placed in a person's mouth. "Tobacco

product" also means any product made or derived from tobacco that is

intended for human consumption, including any component, part, or accessory

of a tobacco product, except for raw materials other than tobacco used in

manufacturing any component, part, or accessory of a tobacco product, in

accordance with the federal Tobacco Control Act, Pub. L. No. 111-31.

(b) "Tobacco product" does not include any alternative nicotin e product, vapor

product, or product regulated as a drug or device by the United States Food

and Drug Administration under Chapter V of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic

Act; and

(18) (a) "Vapor product" means any noncombustible product that employs a heating

element, battery, power source, electronic circuit, or other electronic,

chemical, or mechanical means, regardless of shape or size and including the

component parts and accessories thereto, that can be used to deliver vaporized

nicotine or other substances to users inhaling from the device. "Vapor

product" includes but is not limited to any device deemed to be an electronic

nicotine delivery system by the United States Food and Drug Administration,

any electronic cigarette, electronic cigar, electronic ciga rillo, electronic pipe,

or similar product or device and every variation thereof, regardless of whether

marketed as such, and any vapor cartridge or other container of a liquid

solution or other material that is intended to be used with or in an electronic

cigarette, electronic cigar, electronic cigarillo, electronic pipe, or other similar

product or device.

(b) "Vapor product" does not include any product regulated as a drug or device

by:

1. The United States Food and Drug Administration under Chapter V of

the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; and

2. KRS Chapter 218A.

Collected 2026-09-05T20:59:52Z. Source file · JSON

Browse this collection