Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today, as part of a bipartisan coalition of 25 attorneys general and the city of New York, issued a letter to Shopify Inc. (Shopify), urging the company to take stronger action against merchants that use its services to sell illegal tobacco products, particularly e-cigarettes. 

Shopify’s current policies prohibit merchants from using its services for unlawful activities; however, merchants continue to use the platform’s services to sell illegal e-cigarettes. In their letter, Raoul and the coalition highlight the need for a more comprehensive solution to identify illegal e-cigarette websites.

“E-cigarettes, which are highly addictive and pose significant health risks, have flooded the market nationwide and must be subject to strict regulation,” Raoul said. “Youth in Illinois and across the nation are particularly susceptible to e-cigarette use, which can lead to addiction to nicotine products. I am committed to protecting our communities from the harms of e-cigarettes. I will continue to collaborate with other state attorneys general on a bipartisan basis to hold companies accountable that continue to fuel the youth vaping epidemic.”

The Canadian-based company describes itself as a platform that helps people sell items online or in person to run stores and grow businesses. Due to Shopify’s prohibition on the use of its services for unlawful activities, the platform previously terminated certain e-cigarette sellers brought to the company’s attention in April 2025.

In today’s letter, Raoul and the coalition identify 29 illegal e-cigarette websites that are currently hosted on Shopify’s platform and more than 200 additional websites known to sell illegal tobacco products. The letter also explains that if Shopify and the coalition enter into a cooperative agreement, Raoul and the attorneys general would undertake some of the effort needed to further identify illegal sellers to Shopify.

Every new tobacco product, including e-cigarettes, must receive an order from the Food and Drug Administration authorizing its marketing and sale in the United States. To date, the FDA has approved only 39 e-cigarette products, which does not include any flavor other than tobacco and menthol. Federal law prohibits the receipt or delivery through interstate commerce of any adulterated, or unapproved, tobacco product.

Today’s letter is part of Attorney General Raoul’s ongoing work to combat the flow of unlawful flavored vape products into Illinois. In January, Raoul filed a lawsuit against the entities responsible for the distribution of the popular flavored disposable vape brand, Posh. Raoul’s suit brings claims under the Preventing Youth Vaping Act, seeking to enjoin these entities from selling adulterated e-cigarettes in Illinois and marketing their products to youth. The Preventing Youth Vaping Act, which Illinois made effective in 2022, makes it unlawful to sell e-cigarettes in Illinois that lack the requisite FDA authorization.  

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