Vape Mailing Ban Effective March 26th, 2021
Ahh, remember when we could ship something and had confidence it was going to arrive on time and without hassle? Shipping is becoming more and more of a hassle these days and soon the PACT Act will make it even harder for small companies like ours to get vape pens to our customers.
WHAT IS THE PACT ACT?
The Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act was intended to prevent illegal tobacco sales and tax avoidance and the shipping of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products directly to consumers via the United States Postal Service (USPS).
THE 2021 PACT AMENDMENT
As part of the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021,” in the COVID-19 relief bill signed into law on December 27, 2020, Congress amended the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (“PACT”) Act to apply to e-cigarettes and all vaping products. Originally passed in 2009, the PACT Act amended the existing Jenkins Act of 1949, which required interstate shippers to report cigarette sales to state tobacco tax administrators in order to combat illicit sales and tax avoidance. When it became law 60 years later – the same year the Tobacco Control Act gave FDA authority over tobacco products – the PACT Act, among other things, prohibited the use of the U.S. Postal Service (“USPS”) to deliver cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products directly to consumers.
The 2020 PACT Act amendment, the “Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act,” modifies the original definition of “cigarette” in the PACT Act to include Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS). The term “ENDS” is defined very broadly to essentially include all vaping products, liquids, components, and accessories, whether they contain nicotine or not. Specifically, an ENDS product is defined as “any electronic device that, through an aerosolized solution, delivers nicotine, flavor, or any other substance to the user inhaling from the device,” including “an e-cigarette; an e-hookah; an e-cigar; a vape pen; an advanced refillable personal vaporizer; an electronic pipe; and any component, liquid, part, or accessory of a device described [above], without regard to whether the component, liquid, part, or accessory is sold separately from the device.” (Emphasis added.) Based on this definition of ENDS, zero-nicotine e-liquids, synthetic “tobacco-free” nicotine e-cigarettes, and CBD/THC/hemp vape pens, among other things, would all appear to be captured.
The PACT Act requirements summarized above apply to ENDS effective 90 days from the date of enactment, or on or about March 28, 2021. As of this date the USPS will ban all shipping of vape pens. Unfortunately UPS, Fed Ex and DHL have also decided to ban vape pens being shipped through their companies.
ECO Therapy is working diligently to find a solution to continue shipping our award winning vape pens to our customers. We hope we will have a solution prior to the March 28th, 2021 deadline but we are asking all customers to stock up on their favorite vapes prior to March 26th 2021 at noon CST in case we experience a delay in shipping.
