On April 28, 2026, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined a bipartisan coalition of 24 other attorneys general and New York City in sending letters to major credit card companies and payment processors urging them to block transactions facilitating sales of illegal vaping products. The coalition, led by New York, Pennsylvania, California, and NYC, called for collaboration to stop unlawful sales of unauthorized e-cigarettes that violate federal FDA premarket authorization requirements and the PACT Act. The letters request a meeting to discuss prohibiting noncompliant merchants from using the payment networks, citing past successful government-private sector collaboration in reducing illegal tobacco sales.
In-house legal teams at payment processors should review merchant services agreements to include explicit requirements for compliance with the federal PACT Act, FDA premarket authorization requirements for e-cigarette products, and state laws prohibiting sales of unauthorized vaping products to minors. These agreements should include representations and warranties from merchants confirming their products are FDA-authorized, termination clauses for noncompliance with applicable laws, and audit rights allowing the payment processor to verify adherence to age verification and registration requirements. For merchants selling vaping products, their vendor agreements with suppliers should include clauses requiring suppliers to provide proof of FDA authorization for all e-cigarette products, and indemnification for any losses resulting from sales of unauthorized products. All relevant agreements should also include breach notification clauses requiring merchants to promptly disclose any regulatory actions or investigations related to illegal vaping sales.
Entity
American Express, Capital One, Citi Group, Mastercard, Visa, PayPal, Stripe, Sezzle, Block (operator of Square, Cash App, and Afterpay)
Industry
Financial ServicesOfficial Press Release
https://portal.ct.gov/ag/press-releases/2026-press-releases/attorney-general-tong-joins-bipartisan-effort-to-curb-sales-of-illegal-vaping-products
vaping letters.pdf?rev=6f1af1595fd14ccb894e1c9ed4bf5991&hash
https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/ag/press_releases/2026/vaping-letters.pdf?rev=6f1af1595fd14ccb894e1c9ed4bf5991&hash=22468F22CABA98B48C3BE34C12783967
Connecticut Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://portal.ct.gov/AG/Privacy/Privacy-Resources
"Attorney General Tong Joins Bipartisan Effort to Curb Sales of Illegal Vaping Products"
"04/28/2026"
"Attorney General Tong today joined a bipartisan coalition"
"Office of the Attorney General William Tong"
"bipartisan coalition of 24 other attorneys general and the City of New York"
"major credit card companies and payment processors, including American Express, Capital One, Citi Group, Mastercard, Visa, PayPal, Stripe, Sezzle, and Block (operator of Square, Cash App, and Afterpay)"
New York Attorney General Letitia James led a bipartisan coalition of 24 state attorneys general, Puerto Rico, and New York City in sending letters to nine major credit card companies and payment processors urging them to block transactions facilitating illegal vaping product sales. The coalition cites federal and state laws prohibiting unauthorized e-cigarette sales, particularly to youth, and requests collaboration to prevent payment networks from processing such transactions. No enforcement penalties or actions were imposed as part of this initiative.
On May 11, 2026, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong led a bipartisan coalition of 21 attorneys general in submitting a comment letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urging the agency to abandon draft guidance that would ease approvals for flavored e-cigarette products. The coalition argues the guidance ignores evidence that flavored e-cigarettes disproportionately drive youth addiction and that FDA has failed to enforce existing authorization requirements for e-cigarette products. The letter references past tobacco and e-cigarette enforcement actions, including the 1998 tobacco master settlement agreement and the 2022 $438.5 million settlement with JUUL Labs.
Connecticut’s legislature passed House Bill 5312, creating new civil enforcement mechanisms for deepfake digital sexual assault, including unauthorized dissemination of synthetically created intimate images and AI-generated child pornography. The bill establishes a private right of action for victims and empowers the Connecticut Attorney General to pursue civil injunctions and penalties against abusers and platforms hosting illegal content. This builds on prior Connecticut laws criminalizing unauthorized intimate image dissemination.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong praised final passage of House Bill 5312, which creates new civil enforcement mechanisms for deepfake digital sexual assault. The legislation allows the AG to pursue civil injunctions and penalties against platforms that disseminate illegal synthetic intimate images, including AI-generated child pornography, and establishes a private right of action for victims. The bill builds on prior Connecticut laws criminalizing unauthorized dissemination of intimate images.
$300K
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced a settlement with international trade platform Made-in-China to cease all U.S. sales of unlawful 'research grade' GLP-1 weight loss drugs following an investigation into direct sales to consumers without prescriptions or medical oversight. The settlement prohibits the platform from hosting GLP-1 sales to U.S. customers, requires a monitoring system to remove non-compliant listings, and imposes a $300,000 penalty suspended after an initial $30,000 payment. Additional settlements were announced with Radiance Medspa and Advanced Medical Weight Loss over compounded non-FDA approved GLP-1 drugs.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong issued a statement on May 1, 2026, announcing the final passage of bipartisan legislation targeting youth social media addiction and artificial intelligence harms. The legislation imposes new obligations on social media companies regarding minor account settings, parental consent, and reporting, as well as requirements for AI chatbot operators and employers using automated decision tools. The statement also references ongoing enforcement actions against Meta and TikTok for allegedly designing addictive platform features for youth.