MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Justice is welcoming Shopify’s decision to ban the sale of all vaping products, including e-cigarettes, through its e-commerce platform. The decision is a direct response to a call from a coalition of attorneys general in November 2025 for stronger safeguards. Headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, Shopify describes itself as “a commerce platform that helps you sell online and in person” and explains that “[e]ntrepreneurs, retailers, and global brands use Shopify to make sales, run stores, and grow their businesses.”
“Thank you to Shopify for taking action that will make it harder for young people to obtain vaping products,” said Attorney General Josh Kaul. “We must continue working to help protect against the health consequences that can result from vaping.”
E-cigarettes are highly addictive and pose significant health risks, particularly to youth, and are therefore subject to strict regulation. States in the coalition, as well as local governments within the states, have passed laws to mitigate the sale of e-cigarettes. For example in Wisconsin, the Electronic Vaping Device Directory lists electronic vaping devices that are certified by manufacturers that the device meets the requirements under Wis. Stat. § 995.15. Electronic vaping devices subject to the law may not be sold, offered for sale, or possessed for sale in Wisconsin unless they are listed on the directory.
At the federal level, every new tobacco product, such as an e-cigarette, must receive an order from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorizing its marketing and sale in the United States. To date, the FDA has authorized 45 specific e-cigarette products, all of which are for adult smokers only. E-cigarettes that have not received approval from the FDA, which constitute essentially all e-cigarettes offered by online sellers, are deemed “adulterated.” Federal law prohibits the receipt or delivery in interstate commerce of any adulterated tobacco product, and delivery or proffered delivery of adulterated tobacco products is accordingly unlawful under United States law.
Joining Wisconsin in the November 2025 letter to Shopify were the City of New York and the attorneys general of Arizona, California, 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, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
