Overview
- Shopify is reported to be implementing a ban on all vaping products in the United States as soon as this week, according to multiple news outlets reporting Tuesday.
- Sources say the ban will cover both authorised and unauthorised e-cigarette products, meaning items with FDA marketing permission would also be removed from Shopify’s U.S. storefronts.
- Payment network Mastercard issued a global notice to acquirers in May and said it will investigate and may sanction merchants or processors that facilitate unlicensed vape sales.
- Industry and law-enforcement officials say the step could sharply disrupt online sales of illegal vapes and create a ‘chilling effect’ for merchants, while having a smaller near-term impact on large licensed manufacturers that sell mainly offline.
- Officials and companies point to a tight FDA approval process — only 45 e-cigarette products authorised so far — and an estimated $9 billion illicit U.S. vape market as drivers of the coordinated push to target platforms and payment providers; Shopify has been in talks with a bipartisan group of 25 state attorneys general since 2025.