AGs urge Shopify to crack down on illegal e-cigarette sales

As part of the state’s continuing effort to keep tobacco products out of underaged hands, Attorney General Anne Lopez this week joined a bipartisan coalition of 25 attorneys general plus the New York City in calling on Ottawa-based Shopify Inc. to do more to prevent its participating merchants from using the platform to sell e-cigarettes and other illegal or restricted tobacco products. 

“Illegal e-cigarette sellers continue to use Shopify’s platform to reach consumers, including our keiki,” said deputy attorney general Chelsea Okamoto, “We’re urging Shopify to stop the sale of illegal and harmful products at the source and cooperate with our coalition in protecting the well-being of our communities.” 

Shopify is an online platform that allows merchants, from individual entrepreneurs to global brands, to operate as online shops. While Shopify already prohibits merchants from using its services for illegal activities, the attorneys general note that Shopify merchants continue to use the platform to sell illegal e-cigarettes.

In a letter to the company, the coalition requested a meeting to collaborate and exchange ideas on how to deal with the problem.

The letter identified 29 illegal e-cigarette websites currently hosted by the platform as well as 200 additional sites known to sell illegal tobacco products. They noted that neither list is exhaustive.

The coalition proposed to help further identify illegal sellers if Shopify entered into a cooperative agreement.

The state legislature has been working on legislation to effectively ban flavored tobacco sales in Hawaii. The City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii County and Maui County have already adopted “trigger bans” that would take effect immediately upon enactment of state-level laws.

Nationally, every new tobacco product must receive authorization from the Food and Drug Administration to be marketed and sold 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 — essentially all e-cigarettes offered by online sellers — are deemed “adulterated” and cannot be the subject of interstate commerce.

Shopify previously booted e-cigarette sellers that were brought to the company’s attention by the California Attorney General’s Office on April 15, 2025.

“We are grateful for Shopify’s responsiveness in terminating the e-cigarette sellers we identified, but the sheer scope of the conduct and the significant injury to public health accomplished through on-line e-cigarette sales necessitates a more comprehensive solution,” the coalition wrote.

The effort is co-led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the City of New York. In addition to Lopez, the other co-signers include the attorneys general for Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, 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.

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at michael.tsai@charter.com.