Shopify prepares to ban vapes after pressure from state attorneys general

State attorneys general are scoring a rare enforcement win: Shopify is preparing to ban all vapes from its platform as soon as this week after a bipartisan coalition of 25 states pressed the company to crack down on illegal e-cigarette sales. The move would hit merchants that use Shopify’s infrastructure to run and scale their businesses, and it would mark a major step toward policing the distribution channels that regulators say help keep restricted products in circulation.

The pressure campaign sharpened on November 24, 2025, when California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the City of New York led the coalition in sending Shopify a letter demanding stronger action against merchants using the platform to sell illegal tobacco products, especially e-cigarettes. The group said it had identified 29 illegal e-cigarette websites hosted on Shopify and attached an exhibit listing more than 200 additional websites selling unlawful tobacco products. The attorneys general also asked for a meeting to build a coordinated enforcement strategy.

The push reflects how large the illegal market has become. Reuters reported that the U.S. illegal vape market is worth about $9 billion, with unlicensed products, many made in China, available both online and in physical stores despite being illegal to import or sell. For state officials, that scale has made marketplaces and fulfillment systems a more attractive target than individual sellers alone.

Public-health data underscore why regulators have focused on the online supply chain. Truth Initiative said that as of May 2026, the Food and Drug Administration had authorized only 45 e-cigarette products, meaning most products on the market remained unauthorized. A 2026 Government Accountability Office report said the Department of Justice had taken 88 civil or criminal enforcement actions since fiscal 2022 against unauthorized e-cigarettes.

Shopify, headquartered in Ottawa, had been in talks with the attorneys general since last year. The company said it has always prohibited illegal activity and adjusts enforcement as legal conditions change, while also saying platform decisions are not based on any one group’s feedback alone. Reuters said the ban may not apply outside the United States, though Shopify did not immediately answer questions about geographic scope. If the move goes through, it could set a precedent for how far states can push major platforms to police entire product categories.