Co-Leading Bipartisan Coalition, Attorney General Bonta Calls on Shopify to Crack Down on E-Cigarette Sales

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the City of New York today co-led a bipartisan coalition of 25 attorneys general in sending a letter to Shopify Inc. (Shopify), urging the company to take stronger action against merchants that use its services to sell illegal tobacco products, particularly e-cigarettes. Headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, Shopify describes itself as “a commerce platform that helps you sell online and in person” and explains that “[e]ntrepreneurs, retailers, and global brands use Shopify to make sales, run stores, and grow their businesses.” Shopify’s policies already prohibit merchants from using its services for unlawful activities, and Shopify has previously terminated e-cigarette sellers that were brought to the company’s attention by the California Attorney General’s Office. However, in today’s letter, the coalition argues that a more comprehensive solution is necessary because merchants continue to use Shopify’s services to sell illegal e-cigarettes. Accordingly, the coalition requests a meeting with Shopify to collaborate and exchange ideas on what a comprehensive solution could entail. 

“Right now, e-cigarettes are far too easy to purchase online. My fellow attorneys general and I have not hesitated to take action against individual sellers in the past, but we have found that many sellers are able to offer illegal e-cigarettes for purchase by using Shopify’s services. It’s unacceptable, and we’re urging Shopify to help us better tackle this public health threat,” said Attorney General Bonta. “By addressing unlawful e-cigarette sales at their point of origin, we can make progress faster and more effectively. Earlier this year, Shopify responded positively when my office reached out and asked for its cooperation in terminating its services to certain e-cigarette sellers. We hope Shopify continues to be a partner in our efforts to protect public health and enforce federal, state, and local laws.”  

In today’s letter, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition:

• Identify 29 illegal e-cigarette websites that are currently hosted on Shopify’s platform. California recently placed these websites on notice for operating in violation of federal and state laws. This list is not exhaustive.
• Enclose an exhibit identifying over 200 additional websites known to sell illegal tobacco products. This list is not exhaustive.
• Write that they would undertake some of the effort needed to further identify illegal sellers to Shopify, if Shopify and the coalition entered into a cooperative agreement. 

E-cigarettes are highly addictive and pose significant health risks, particularly to youth and are therefore subject to strict regulation. States in the coalition, as well as local governments within the states, have passed laws to mitigate the sale of e-cigarettes. For example, in California, Senate Bill 793 (Hill, 2020) banned flavored tobacco products (subject to certain exceptions) and tobacco product flavor enhancers. Assembly Bill 3218 (Wood, 2024), which went into effect on January 1, 2025, amended the flavor ban by expanding the definition of flavored products, expanding enforcement power, and creating an Unflavored Tobacco List (UTL). The UTL is a list of unflavored tobacco products that are lawful for sale in California. The Attorney General will publish the UTL by December 31, 2025. 

At the federal level, every new tobacco product, such as an e-cigarette, must receive an order from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorizing its marketing and sale in the United States. To date, the FDA has approved only 39 e-cigarette products, none in any flavor other than tobacco and menthol. E-cigarettes that have not received approval from the FDA, which constitute essentially all e-cigarettes offered by online sellers, are deemed “adulterated.” Federal law prohibits the receipt or delivery in interstate commerce of any adulterated tobacco product, and delivery or proffered delivery of adulterated tobacco products is accordingly unlawful under United States law.

Attorney General Bonta has also filed actions against individual e-cigarette sellers. Earlier this year, he announced coordinated multistate actions to hold companies accountable for unlawfully manufacturing, distributing, selling, and marketing flavored disposable e-cigarette products. He also announced a lawsuit against Flumgio Technology Inc., Berkeley Int'l Business Crew, and their founder, Mr. Zaoyu Zhu for importing and selling the popular FLUM brand e-cigarettes. In addition, in 2023, he announced lawsuits against two California online retailers of e-cigarettes, Ejuicesteals and E-juice Vapor, Inc. And Attorney General Bonta secured a $462 million multistate settlement agreement with electronic cigarette maker, JUUL, Labs, Inc. 

Joining Attorney General Bonta and the City of New York in sending today’s letter to Shopify are the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.