Attorney General Bonta Co-Leads Bipartisan Effort Urging Credit Card and Payment Processing Companies to Combat Illegal Sales of Tobacco and Nicotine Products

Coalition also requests meetings with each company to comprehensively address the unlawful sales

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced co-leading a bipartisan coalition of 25 attorneys general and the City of New York in sending letters to nine major credit card and payment processing companies urging them to take stronger action to prevent the unlawful sale of tobacco and nicotine products, particularly e-cigarettes, online and at brick-and-mortar stores. In the early 2000s, states partnered with credit card companies and payment processors to reduce youth access to conventional cigarettes sold online. While progress was made, e-cigarette use among young people has grown exponentially over the past fifteen years, creating new challenges that require a comprehensive solution. E-cigarettes are highly addictive and pose significant health risks.

The letters were sent to American Express, Capital One, Citigroup, Mastercard, Visa, PayPal, Stripe, Sezzle, and Block (operator of Square, Cash App, and Afterpay), and request that each company provide a response outlining its availability within 15 days. In the letters, the coalition also noted recent engagement by attorneys general with Shopify Inc. regarding unlawful e-cigarette sales occurring through its e-commerce platform as well as other actions they have taken against illegal online sellers, including litigation and referrals to federal authorities for placement on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ Noncompliant List.

“Illegal e-cigarette sales remain widespread, posing a serious public health concern and requiring a more robust response,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Payment processors and financial service companies have a responsibility to ensure their platforms are not being used to facilitate these illegal sales. We are calling on nine major credit card processors to be part of the solution and help protect our communities — especially our kids.”

Federal, state, and local governments across the nation have been working on accelerating policies and programs to reduce e-cigarette use among youth. 

Under federal law, every new tobacco product must receive authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before it can be legally marketed and sold in the United States. To date, the FDA has authorized only 41 e-cigarette products — none in flavors other than tobacco and menthol. Nearly all e-cigarettes sold by online retailers have not received FDA authorization and are therefore considered unlawful “adulterated” tobacco products under federal law. “Adulterated” tobacco products cannot legally be sold or shipped in interstate commerce. Additionally, the federal Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act imposes strict requirements on online e-cigarette sellers, including age verification, labeling, tax compliance, and compliance with all laws applicable to the sale of e-cigarette products.

Many jurisdictions have enacted flavored tobacco bans, while some states prohibit all direct-to-consumer online e-cigarette sales entirely. For example, in California, Senate Bill 793 (Hill, 2020) banned flavored tobacco products (subject to certain exceptions) and tobacco product flavor enhancers. Assembly Bill 3218 (Wood, 2024), which went into effect on January 1, 2025, amended the flavor ban by expanding the definition of flavored products, expanding enforcement power, and creating an Unflavored Tobacco List (UTL). The UTL is a list of unflavored tobacco products that are lawful for sale in California. The Attorney General published the UTL on December 31, 2025.

Today’s letters were co-led by the offices of Attorney General Bonta, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and the City of New York. They were joined by the offices of the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.