Following congressional passage of the “vape mail” ban that will end U.S. Postal Service shipping of vaping products to consumers, UPS has joined Fedex in announcing it too will end shipping of vapes. The ban covers shipping to both consumers and businesses.
“Effective April 5, 2021, UPS will not transport vaping products to, from, or within the United States due to the increased complexity to ship those products,” a company spokesperson told Vaping360 by email. The policy, which will soon leave no major shipping service willing to deliver vaping products to homes, has left online vaping retailers scrambling to find a solution.
The announcement followed days of uncertainty, with some vaping businesses being told that their accounts would be closed, and others being reassured that the company’s tobacco and vapor product policy would not change. (The UPS website has still not amended the policy.)
Fedex had already confirmed that it will end vapor product shipping as of March 1. DHL, the other major shipping service, previously banned domestic retail shipments of e-cigarettes and all nicotine-containing products.
The new law, which was inserted into the federal Omnibus Spending Bill, mandates that the U.S. Postal Service create regulations within 120 days banning U.S. Mail delivery of vaping products—whether they contain nicotine or not. The bill was so broad that the wording includes all vaping products, including all cannabis, CBD, delta 8 carts and flavor-only liquids and devices.
The Postal Service has not issued its new rules yet. Existing USPS regulations allow manufacturers and distributors to ship cigarettes and smokeless tobacco to each other, but not directly to customers. If those rules carry over to vaping products, vape shops will still be able to receive products, but individual customers will be unable to receive deliveries at home.
In addition to banning USPS deliveries of vaping products, the “Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act” forces vape product sellers into the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act, which is part of the larger federal Jenkins Act. The PACT Act imposes a series of stringent requirements on shippers of included products:
- Register with the U.S. Attorney General/ATF
- Verify age of customers using a commercially available database
- Use private shipping services that collect an adult signature at the point of delivery
- If selling in states that tax vaping products, sellers must register with the federal government and with the tobacco tax administrators of the states
- Collect all applicable local and state taxes, and affix any required tax stamps to the products sold
- Send each taxing state’s tax administrator a list of all transactions with customers in their state, including the names and addresses of each customer sold to, and the quantities and type of each product sold
- Maintain records for five years of any “delivery interrupted because the carrier or service determines or has reason to believe that the person ordering the delivery is in violation of the [PACT Act]”
Sellers who do not register or don’t comply with the requirements of the PACT Act are subject to severe penalties, including prison. The PACT Act provisions of the law take effect in late March, and apply to all online sales, no matter which carrier ships them.
You can read our previous coverage of the “Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act” here:
- Trump Signs Budget Bill with Vape Mail Ban Included – Dec. 27, 2020
- URGENT: Stop Congress from Restricting Online Vape Sales – Dec. 10, 2020
- Tell Congress to Reject the Vape Mail Ban (While You Still Can) – Aug. 11, 2020
- Vape Mail Ban Passes the Senate; House Vote in Two Weeks – July 7, 2020
This is bullshit. This is helping me to get off of cigarettes which are very expensive. I really can not afford them. I have been lowering my niccotine in increments so I won’t be addicted anymore. This makes me very angry. I can not believe that the government can do this . The US government is really becoming a dictator bannana republic style of government and has gotten out of our control. We need to to throw the crazy senators and representives out asap and take back our country back while we still can. This is our country and we… Read more »
That’s what I did, it took me 5 years yet here I am vaping 0% nic! I didn’t even notice it so I probably could’ve went 0% sooner! It’s a great feeling after 40+ yrs of smoking icky sticks!
I agree frank….especially with this pandemic alot people are afraid to go out and buy what they need. I usually order hemp by mail. So this crap affects me too. SMDH
A lot of people are looking at ways of getting around this. Meanwhile, learn to make your own e-liquid. It’s not hard.
Bro, they’re banning mailing of ALL vape related products, including liquid nicotine and flavors suspected of being used for DIY vaping. They’re tyrants.
There is no way to ban mailing of food flavorings. If they’re sold specifically as vaping flavorings maybe, but otherwise no. Liquid nicotine is in the same boat as e-liquid, and will have to be shipped through one of the new networks being created.
They can and they are. I tried buying from a DIY site that’s really popular after watching a YT video on how to make it using a electronic scale. The site was like “We don’t ship to your State anymore.” None of the companies are taking the risk the ATF or Federal Government will come knocking. So they’re just shutting down service. Some even stopped selling e-juice all together and changed their entire business model to selling other stuff.
Yes, this article is from January. Please read the follow-up from February (which still doesn’t fully describe the situation as it stands today).
Thats exactly what I plan on doing, I already know how to, it just a matter of procuring the ingredients.
How do you make your own e liquid?
This article will get you started.
I’ll be stocking up. I already have probably 6 months to year’s worth of juice. Time to stock up on salts. More bang for the buck.
Between me and my wife we have about 1000 buck worth of ejuice, so now I just have to stock up on coils and nic. Because where I live the vaoe shops had to get rid of all the flavors, they can only sell tobacco, menthol and flavorless.
Getting nicotine will be though
You have at least two months to buy all the nicotine you can freeze. I’m not saying this is a real solution—most people can’t afford to buy large quantities of nicotine—but it can help many.
So I heard that they won’t be shipping to businesses either? Like my head shop, vape shop won’t be getting shipments in?!?! Is that correct?
Currently usps hasn’t changed there rules pertaining to business to business but if they do it would have to be larger LCL Carriers on pallets which will cost more and hopefully will cause a increase in LCL transfer businesses because that would hurt usps fedex and ups and could cause enough pressure to change there views on vape items.
UPS and Fedex will not. USPS rules haven’t been issued yet, but they look doubtful for shipments to retail stores too. However, there are people working hard to come up with solutions. We’ll have an article about it in the next few days.
They are trying to shut down the vape industry, which has helped countless people quit smoking, it really it a f—— shame. Sorry for the language but I’m very passionate about this issue and I’m from New York so I think I get a pass.
This is BS
You have your friendly local Big Tobacco Lobbyists to thank for that. They have billions of dollars to throw at misinforming the public and lawmakers on the topic and to “financially encourage” them to vote in their favor. But hey, what do you expect when an industry outside of their own forces them into fight-or-flight mode? You want them to admit their product is deadly and addictive and propose to lawmakers that they ban the proven cancer-inducing product instead of the alternative? That would be a level of integrity that is unfathomable and incomprehensible to most folks in the tobacco… Read more »
I don’t think that’s true. Big tobacco has been invested in the vaping industry for awhile now (some of them heavily). They will make more money if their customers are using vapes or other alternatives (they want their customers to live longer and not quit). And no one has to pay the media to demonize vaping (EVALI offered them lots of drama and they capitalized on it). It’s the politicians and anti-tobacco groups who are actually trying to get it banned “for the children.” They will try to get it banned any way they can and most people (who don’t… Read more »
Wrong! They are specifically going after vape shops who compete with Big Tobacco’s ‘over the counter’ vapes. They’re not eliminating the Juul’s or other vapes distributed by Big Tobacco to gas stations where they’re sold to kids. You know… the stuff that has more nicotine than even cigarettes and are more addictive. They are going after the mom and pop vape shops where you and I can control the amount of nicotine and other addictive chemicals we get. It is ABSOLUTELY Big Tobacco behind this. They have been lobbying Congress for it for years! This is not a theory. It… Read more »
I’d be curious to see the evidence that convinced you that this is “documented fact.” There is some truth to what you’re saying about tobacco companies—indeed, the Tobacco Control Act itself was written to exclude newcomers with less dangerous products—but in this case I think what happened was that the tobacco companies simply didn’t oppose it, which gave permission to Republicans to not care. Juul was certainly not in favor of eliminating a fifth of their own business, and Reynolds (Vuse) does considerable online business too.
What I am doing.
Tell me more about freezing nicotine please. I use 100mg/ml base . I had np idea you could freeze it.
First, I’m not an expert. You should really investigate DIY sites and DIY discussion groups in forums like ECF and Reddit.
My understanding is that it never freezes solid, but that extreme cold helps preserve the potency of the nicotine longer (it does decline very slowly over time).
I’ve bought this MTH 480mls of 200mg nicotine base
& I have 3litres of eLiquid
No supplier will sell straight free base to people who are not legal e juice manufacturers, and no mail carrier will ship nic suspended in either pg, vg, or both.
You’re saying this will be the case after shipping restrictions take effect, or now? Because there are lots of online nicotine retailers in full operation now.
Most online DIY are changing to B2B only. What that requires for most things is a tax id number. The nicotine is more difficult but hopefully a solution is working with vape shops to receive and resell those items. VG, PG and Flavors are used in so many other products (candy and baking) it’s impossible to regulate them as only vape items. Biggest issue may be device coils but PACT dosnt effect B2B sales and once again shipping will take the issue but once again working with vape shops might be a solution. And maybe Walmart rumors of buying out… Read more »
Many of the same PACT rules do, in fact, apply to B2B shipping. Have you read this article?
Remember theres a pandemic so people cant afford to stock up and “freeze” it. But no lets give drug addict the chance to legally have heroin or whatever crap and free methadone in oregon at least but lord forbid anyone vapes! This puts alot of people in struggling positions. Not being able to be sent any vape product will shut my husbands shop down and that shop is what pays the rent and puts food on the table for my kids. So yea im pissed off.
I understand everyone can’t afford to order a lot of nicotine, but some people can, and I want them to understand that option is available. I don’t blame you for being upset—I am too—but other drug users aren’t to blame for nicotine vapers’ misfortunes.
I just ordered 1 liter of 100mg nic .. was 67 shipped to my door .. 1gallon is 159 plus shipping.. maybe after I use up this I can just wean my self completely off of nic completely .. or start flying to arizona by a 55gal drum and renting a car one way to drive it home lol
Can you list some online retailers that are allowed to ship within NY? It’s hard finding new places to order from, and there are no vape shops by me. Looking to get unflavored high concentration to mix my own. Thanks for this site, btw.
I believe it’s illegal to ship vaping products (at least retail e-liquid; I’m uncertain about plain nicotine) in New York.
You can find DIY nicotine sellers by searching Google for “nicotine base,” and will have to contact them to see how they handle shipping to New York State. You may also find the answers looking at DIY forums on ECF, Reddit or E-Liquid-Recipes.com. Good luck!
I normally order materials to make my e-liquid at home. Will sites that supply VG/PG/Nicotine/flavors be hit by this?
I’d certainly be concerned about nicotine base. PG, VG and flavorings can’t be restricted.
All vape supplies are going to be banned, including the coils that are used in the tank with the e-liquid.I just spoke to the place where I order mine and was told it’s including everything, including 0 nicotine. You need to check, but I’m told nothing that is used in vaping will be sent to businesses or consumers. Luckily they offer DIY kits that are extremely easy to use, will buy a year’s worth and hope lawmakers come to their sense. I have been off cigarettes for 5 years after starting the vape (low nicotine %),am 64 and haven’t felt… Read more »
This bill was passed and signed into law by the Trump administration. So I don’t understand trying to shift the blame to Democrats. It took members from both parties to pass this and Trump had veto power so he had the most influence in the process.
This bill passed the Senate on a voice vote. Not a single Republican opposed it. This isn’t just the Dems.
BIG TOBACCO WANTS YOU BACK.
Well it looks like we’re done then. I can’t see any way forward from here. Contacting congressmen clearly does no good, as I have done so many, many times and they do not care what we want. This is disgusting.
So now their taking our right to chose away from us. Thought this was the US where we have a choice in what we do…. I vape and now there telling me basically I can’t that Bs and shouldn, t be left up to the gov To force people like me to stop. This effects not just online vape shops but local stores too. If they don’t get the shipments then they go down too.
What an absolute crock of s*** these people do not care about our kids or us. So we find a healthier alternative to smoking, and they ban it because they are losing money. Wow what a great country we live in.
Maybe time to run for the border .. buying nic in mexico .. imagine sneaking nic across the border lol
Let me know when you’re going. I’ll drive. lol