Bipartisan AG coalition call on Shopify to crack down on e-cigarette sales

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, urging the company to take stronger action against merchants that use its services to sell illegal tobacco products, particularly e-cigarettes. 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. In the letter, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition identify 29 illegal e-cigarette websites that are currently hosted on Shopify’s platform; enclose an exhibit identifying over 200 additional websites known to sell illegal tobacco products; and 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. 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.