Attorney General Jeff Jackson Calls on Shopify to Crack Down on E-Cigarette Sales to Children

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, November 24, 2025
Contact: nahmed@ncdoj.gov
919-538-2809

RALEIGH — Attorney General Jeff Jackson and a bipartisan coalition of 25 attorneys general sent a letter to e-commerce platform Shopify today, urging it to take stronger action against merchants that use its services to sell e-cigarettes and other illegal tobacco products. More than 28 illegal e-cigarette websites are currently hosted on Shopify’s platform, and another 200 websites are selling illegal tobacco products.  

“If states and the federal government create laws to protect our residents, companies can’t sidestep those for their own profit,” said Attorney General Jeff Jackson. “We have protections against selling e-cigarettes to children because we know how harmful it is for them, and we need Shopify to step up and keep those products off of its platforms.”  

Because e-cigarettes are highly addictive and pose serious health risks, especially to young people, they’re strictly regulated by federal law and by individual state laws. At the federal level, every new tobacco product, such as an e-cigarette, must receive an order from the Food and Drug Administration authorizing its marketing and sale in the United States. E-cigarettes that don’t have FDA approval can’t be sent or delivered via interstate commerce. They also can’t be sold to people under 21.  

In North Carolina, e-cigarette manufacturers must get their products certified by the Department of Revenue before they can sell in the state, it’s illegal to sell or give e-cigarettes to kids under 18, and internet sellers must conduct age verification before selling their products. North Carolina was the first state to sue and win a $47.8 million judgment against Juul to hold it accountable for advertising and selling its products to children.  

Shopify has removed merchants before for using its services for unlawful activities, but merchants keep using Shopify to sell e-cigarettes. The bipartisan attorneys general are asking Shopify to work together to find a solution that keeps unlawful products off their platforms and out of the market.  

Joining Attorney General Jackson in sending today’s letter to Shopify are the attorneys general of  California, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the city of New York.  

A copy of the letter can be found here.  

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