(Reuters) -A coalition of 25 state attorneys general on Monday wrote to Shopify requesting the platform pull its hosting services from websites selling vapes illegally, according to a letter from California’s Attorney General’s Office.
The letter, also signed by state attorney general offices such as those in Illinois and Arizona, as well as state and city authorities from New York, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, requested Shopify to work with them on an ongoing basis to cut off clients selling vapes that lack the necessary government license or violate other U.S. laws.
Shopify did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized 39 e-cigarette products for legal U.S. sale. However, for many years, the market has been largely dominated by unregulated devices, which are often disposable e-cigarettes with fruity or sweet flavors and are manufactured in China.
“By addressing unlawful e-cigarette sales at their point of origin, we can make progress faster and more effectively,” California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta said in the letter.
The signatories added they planned to seek similar agreements with other web hosting providers. They thanked Shopify for removing some vape sellers identified by California in April, but said a “more comprehensive solution” was needed due to the public health risks posed by unregulated vapes.
The move is the latest example of authorities clamping down on widespread vape sales that violate U.S. laws, disrupting the multi-billion-dollar unregulated industry.
The Trump Administration launched major raids and targeted U.S. players in the vape supply chain, which, along with steep tariffs on China, drove vape shortages earlier this year. Meanwhile, the U.S. Postal Service moved to block a key vape distributor in August.
(Reporting by Emma Rumney in London, additional reporting by Neil J Kanatt in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
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