By Emma Rumney
LONDON, July 10 (Reuters) – Shopify has told customers using its web-hosting services to remove vape products from their online stores, according to a notice seen by Reuters and confirmed by the company on Friday.
Reuters reported in June that the Ottawa-based company, which provides the infrastructure that enables millions of merchants to run and scale e-commerce businesses, was planning the move after pressure from a coalition of U.S. state and city law enforcement authorities over widespread sales of illegal vapes through websites hosted on Shopify’s platform.
Shopify’s new policy, however, applies to all vape products.
“Due to changes in legal restrictions on the sale of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), Shopify no longer supports the sale of these products,” the June 24 notice said, instructing merchants to remove all e-cigarette products by July 8 or risk product suspension or store termination.
Shopify confirmed the notice was authentic, but did not comment further. Earlier in June, the company told Reuters it prohibited illegal activity and that enforcement decisions were based on its assessment of legal requirements across jurisdictions.
The move follows pressure from attorneys general from states including California, Illinois and Arizona, as well as authorities in the City of New York, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The same coalition has also pushed for policy changes at other companies, including Mastercard.
“This change will help significantly reduce the sale of illegal nicotine products. We will continue to hold companies accountable and protect public health,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said. Bonta led the coalition alongside the City of New York.
A spokesperson for Bonta told Reuters that Shopify’s decision applies globally.
(Reporting by Emma Rumney. Editing by Mark Potter)
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