Attorney General Bonta Welcomes Shopify Ban on All E-Cigarette Sales, Following Call for Action

OAKLAND - Co-leading a bipartisan coalition of 25 attorneys general, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the City of New York today welcomed Shopify's decision to ban the sale of all vaping products, including e-cigarettes, through its e-commerce platform. The decision is a direct response to the coalition's November 2025 call for stronger safeguards. 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."

"E-cigarettes have harmed young people across the country," said Attorney General Bonta. "For too long, online platforms have enabled the sale of these dangerous and highly addictive products. We called on Shopify to act, and we appreciate its cooperation. This change will help significantly reduce the sale of illegal nicotine products. We will continue to hold companies accountable and protect public health."

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.

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 authorized 45 specific e-cigarette products, all of which are for adult smokers only. 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.

Joining Attorney General Bonta and the City of New York in sending the November 2025 letter to Shopify were 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.