The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that Shopify will ban all vapes from its platform as soon as this week after pressure from a group of U.S. state attorneys-general aiming to curb sales of illegal e-cigarettes on-line. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says the Ottawa e-commerce company provides the underlying infrastructure that lets millions of merchants operate and scale e-commerce channels. It has been in talks since last year with a bipartisan coalition of 25 state attorneys-general, who have been pushing Shopify to do more to clamp down on a booming market for vapes that lack the legally required licence for U.S. sales, or violate other laws. Unlicensed vapes, usually made in China, are widely available in the U.S. both on-line and in vape shops, convenience stores or gas stations despite being illegal to import or sell. The expected Shopify ban would mark the most significant win yet for the state law enforcement officials, who have been targeting the industry's infrastructure over concerns that illegal vapes put public health at risk. The illegal U.S. market for vapes is worth about $9-billion (U.S.). Shopify did not answer a question about whether its ban would extend to other countries.
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