State AGs seek help curbing e-cig sales to minors

A bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from 24 states, New York City and Puerto Rico want credit card and payment processing companies to help them combat illegal sales of e-cigarettes. The letter-writing initiative is the first step in an effort to duplicate a collaborative campaign undertaken 20-plus years ago to reduce youth access to conventional cigarettes sold online. Only this time the states are targeting sales to underage customers at brick-and-mortar stores as well.

"Our outreach is grounded in the recognition that combatting illegal e-cigarette sales requires proactive efforts between government entities and credit card and payment processing companies to stop these unlawful transactions," the attorneys general wrote in their letter to Laureen Seeger, chief legal officer at American Express.

Similar letters were sent to executives at Capital One, Citi Group, Mastercard, Visa, PayPal, Stripe, Block and the buy now, pay later company Sezzle, among other companies.

"Electronic cigarettes, or vaping devices, are often advertised in ways that appeal to children and teens and oftentimes, these young people are accessing these vaping devices through unmonitored online purchases," Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said in an April 28 statement. "We are asking these payment processors and credit card companies to crack down on the illegal sale of vaping devices through the internet."

Signing on to stop illegal e-cigarette sales

Joining Pennsylvania Attorney General Sunday in sending letters were the attorneys general of:

• Arizona
• California
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• Oregon
• Rhode Island
• Tennessee
• Vermont
• Washington
• Wisconsin

This isn't the first time states have targeted payment companies in an effort to curtail teen vaping. In November 2025, many of the same attorneys general lashed out at ecommerce platform Shopify for not taking strong enough action against merchants using the platform to sell e-cigarettes. At the time, North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson said the state had identified 28 illegal e-cigarette websites that were being hosted on Shopify's platform.

"We have protections against selling e-cigarettes to children because we know how harmful it is for them, and we need Shopify to step up and keep those products off its platforms," Jackson said at the time.

Following road map from early 2000s

State and federal government agencies launched a campaign to combat illegal sales of conventional cigarettes, particularly sales to youth, in the early 2000s. "Addressing this serious issue required not only robust government actions but also cooperation from companies that enabled illegal transactions through their services, such as credit card and payment processing," the attorneys general wrote.

Since that time e-cigarettes have been popularized, and a significant number of young people are apparently are purchasing them online.

Federal law imposes strict requirements around e-cigarette products, including Food and Drug Administration approval, registration and age verification requirements. E-cigarettes not approved by the FDA are considered "adulterated."

Several states have passed similar laws. There are even federal and state laws specific to online sales of e-cigarettes.

"Despite these restrictions, unauthorized e-cigarettes continue to be sold in retailers, vape shops, or online and shipped directly to consumers, with transactions frequently processed through major payment networks," the Maryland attorney general's office said in an April 28 statement.

The AGs want card companies and payment processors to "take meaningful steps to prevent their services from being used to process unlawful e-cigarette transactions," the Maryland attorney general's office explained.

To that end, the attorneys general said they want to meet with company executives to discuss solutions, "including prohibiting merchants and payment processors that violate federal, state and local laws from using their networks."

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