The legal counter has paperwork
Alberta rules and enforcement lists fines for selling to minors, failing to check ID for customers who appear under 25, display and advertising violations, and prohibited-location sales. Those are measurable compliance points.
Records worth asking for
Those records distinguish compliant small businesses from operators outside the system.
Do not collapse channels
AGLC defines contraband tobacco as product that fails federal or provincial rules on importation, marking, manufacturing, stamping, or taxes on its contraband page. That is a different problem than a licensed retailer following age and ID rules.