Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s wholesale platform Alibaba.com announced Oct. 9 that it will suspend sales of e-cigarettes components and accessories to buyers in the U.S.
Alibaba.com said in a statement that starting Oct. 10, electronic cigarettes products including box mods, vape pens, herbal vaporizers, heat-not-burn devices, empty cartridges and wraps for e-cigarette and vaping devices will not be displayed to buyers in the U.S. market.
The company added that its existing policies prohibit the sale of combustible nicotine products and complete e-cigarettes.
Other retailers including Walmart Inc., The Kroger Co., Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. have made similar moves to pull e-cigarette products amidst heightened concerns over the health effects of vaping.
E-cigarette accessories could still be found on Alibaba's Chinese marketplaces including Taobao and Tmall. However, sales of Juul products were halted on Tmall and rival site JD.com days after its launch in September.
