Attorneys general demand Shopify remove illegal tobacco products

Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday joined representatives from 25 states and the City of New York in signing a letter to the e-commerce platform, Shopify Inc., demanding that the company take action against merchants selling illegal tobacco products on the site.

“Illegal e-cigarette sellers are targeting our communities — especially our children — and they’re using mainstream e-commerce platforms to do it,” said Sunday in a news release. “This has to stop.”

On Monday, Sunday joined attorneys general from California, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the City of New York, in action against the platform.

Shopify, which is an online platform that allows businesses to create and run online stores, was founded in 2004 by Canadian entrepreneurs Tobi Lütke, Scott Lake and Daniel Weinand, according to the company’s website.

The company currently facilitates businesses across more than 175 countries and sells items from large companies such as David’s Bridal, Meta, SKIMS and Supreme.

Earlier this month, Shopify announced a 32% revenue growth for the third quarter, which ended Sept. 30, according to a news release.

Shopify’s current policy, according to its website, prohibits the sale of age-restricted items such as alcohol, tobacco or gambling in addition to cannabis, drugs and drug-related products. However, the prosecutors’ letter states that merchants continue to use Shopify’s services to sell illegal e-cigarettes.

In the letter the coalition identified 29 illegal e-cigarette websites currently hosted on Shopify’s platform as well as over 200 additional websites known to sell illegal tobacco products.

In October, the House unanimously voted in favor of a bill that would create a statewide directory of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems to help regulate the sale of tobacco and cigarettes in Pennsylvania.

The news release stated that if the bill passed in the Senate, Sunday would enforce the directory, which is modeled after Pennsylvania’s Tobacco Product Directory that lists all federally compliant cigarette brands permitted for sale.

“Shopify has taken corrective action before, but the scale of this problem demands a stronger and more coordinated approach. We are asking Shopify to work with us so we can shut down illegal sellers, protect public health, and ensure that only lawful, regulated products are available to consumers,” Sunday said in his statement.

Shopify’s website does not provide contact information beyond a Help Center that provides facts and general information.

Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein did not respond to a request for comment.