Tag: PACT Act

Stand and Deliver

X Delivery wants to be the logistics answer to the challenges of mailing PACT Act-compliant vaping products in the U.S.
By Timothy S. Donahue
When the options seemed bleak, X Delivery took on the challenge. Buried within the omnibus spending bill passed at the end of last year was the Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act that prohibits the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from delivering nicotine or cannabis vaping products directly to consumers by bringing electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS) and cannabis products under the 2009 Preventing All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT Act).
All the major shipping carriers (UPS, FedEx, DHL) stopped shipping vaping products too. It seemed the online market for vaping products had ended abruptly (see “Attack of the PACT Act,” page?). Then came X Delivery. The shipping carrier with the simple name offered a solution. While there is still room for growth and bringing on more drivers to deliver vaping products to more zip codes, X Delivery has given many online retailers hope.
The PACT Act requirements make shipping vapor products complicated. Paul Vinuelas, chief logistics officer for X Delivery, said that the company can fulfill all the PACT Act requirements, including verifying the age of the purchaser and obtaining the required signature of the adult with every vape-related delivery. All packages containing vaping products cannot weigh more than 10 pounds (4.5 kg) and all shipping packages must also carry a sticker stating the contents contain a “tobacco” product, along with a statement reminding the recipient that taxes are owed on the purchase, according to Vinuelas.
“All shipping has unique challenges. The fact that the national carriers have opted out of vape shipping shows us that they are only interested in the drop-and-run delivery model. They are not confident in their ability to deliver to a person 21 years or older,” explains Vinuelas. “That’s where X Delivery comes in; we have a network of dedicated individuals who take the PACT Act seriously. We are dedicated to ensuring compliance and protecting youth from obtaining these products. It takes a bit more effort to perform our deliveries and audit them for PACT Act compliance, but we think it’s worth it.”
X Delivery has the capability to ship products to consumers nationwide and can currently deliver to about 90 percent of the U.S. population for vaping products. Vinuelas told Vapor Voice that the company is working to increase its coverage to 100 percent of the country as soon as possible.
“Our final-mile delivery partners are required to check IDs and obtain adult signatures. From an end-customer’s perspective, ordering from an online merchant that ships via X Delivery is just like getting an order from an online merchant that ships with a household-name shipping carrier: You get tracking updates from the moment your order is placed all the way through to your delivery,” says Vinuelas. “We take it a step further and work to notify customers when their package is arriving soon to make sure they are home to receive their package.”
X Delivery was started by CEO Chris Guggenheim, who has a storied career in the entertainment and ecommerce technology industries. These experiences led Guggenheim to invest in technology that drives commerce and opened “X.” The technology company X powers X Delivery, and there are more offerings that will come to market over time under the X umbrella. In 2019, his highest-volume clients asked for help solving challenges they were facing regarding delivery. The technology company soon began supporting the high-tech nationwide shipping carrier X Delivery, which Guggenheim started in early 2020. In just six months after beginning operations, X Delivery delivered more than 10 million packages within a two-day average delivery time nationwide. The company began shipping vape products in late 2020.
“Over the last 6 months, we have partnered with vape companies to build a fully compliant shipping carrier service leveraging our existing technology and logistics capabilities,” explained Vinuelas. “We appreciate the seriousness of these residential deliveries and our local, state and federal regulation compliance efforts have been exhaustive yet successful.”
The knowledge gained running X helped Guggenheim solve a variety of retail issues for merchants, according to Vinuelas. “When we began to pilot our service in 2019, we realized that building technology from the ground up was the only way to support high-growth D2C [direct-to-consumer] e-commerce businesses long term,” he said. “When we talk about the value of X Delivery, it is to improve customer experience, sales conversion and to enable merchants to experience peak performance from one warehouse.”
X Delivery’s official slogan is “Reimagine Delivery.” X Delivery has an unofficial slogan too: Fix logistics. The purpose of X Delivery is to “simplify package delivery through technology, reliability, speed and price,” according to the company’s website, xdelivery.ai. Vinuelas says the company has developed a new approach to logistics by leveraging in-motion supply chain assets, from empty warehouses to local delivery services, and connecting them to new technology.
“Most e-commerce merchants will not be able to accurately answer how much it costs them to ship a package. Many e-commerce merchants incorrectly believe that running an operation out of multiple warehouses will help them take advantage of faster shipping and lower costs. This is not true, and this is what is broken,” explains Vinuelas. “Shipping carriers need to understand that all customers should get the same service no matter where they are shipping from or where they are shipping to in the U.S. This is our purpose in the market today. I’m also going to add that it shouldn’t take a Ph.D. to figure out what it will cost a merchant to ship in the U.S. Shipping carriers need to stop with the extra fees, fuel surcharges, Covid-19 fees, etc. We have done that.”
Paul Vinuelas
X Delivery uses an application programming interface (API) to help streamline its shipping process. An API is a set of protocols that sync up data in real-time across various platforms by allowing the backends of software and applications to communicate with each other over the internet.
According to the X Delivery website, with the help of an API, one program (application A) can “call” another program (application B) to access its data or functionalities. For example, users can see data from application A via application B’s interface without manually transferring the data from one program to another. API integrations allow users to automate processes across various digital applications to make the flow of information seamless and instantaneous.
“APIs allow companies to integrate shipping functionality directly into their system or other platforms so they can customize the interfaces to improve productivity and expand fulfillment capabilities while minimizing errors and delays associated with manually transferring data,” the website states. “Our API drives the future of logistics management. We help you simplify package delivery through technology, reliability, speed and price by leveraging in-motion supply chain assets to give you the best shipping options available in real-time.”
Currently, X Delivery is only shipping for customers with a minimum of 500 packages a day, shipping out of one warehouse with a weight limit of 10 pounds; however, Vinuelas says that the company is working on lowering the minimum package threshold. “We are working hard to eventually offer our service to smaller companies,” he said. “For now, we have partnered with several carefully selected fulfillment companies to help those (smaller) companies tap into the X Delivery network.”
Shipping with X Delivery will be slightly more expensive than shipping with the big-name delivery services but not much more than the cost of USPS delivery with adult signature collection. A 1-pound package costs approximately $6–$7, depending on the amount of packages shipped, and a 10-pound package costs approximately $10–$11 with X Delivery. Those costs are expected to decrease as the network broadens and more companies start shipping through X Delivery, according to Vinuelas.
Moving forward, X Delivery is dedicated to optimizing delivery routes. By joining the X Delivery team, businesses have access to multiple delivery options from anywhere in the country.
“We understand that nothing we say will earn trust better than showing results. We are 100 percent transparent with our clients and their end-customers. We also make it easy for anyone to try us out. Once you try us, you will understand how logistics should work, and you will never want to go back to the old way,” says Vinuelas. “Our long-term goal is to be the No. 1 shipping carrier for D2C ecommerce brands. Vape and e-cigarette merchants want to partner with people who understand the relevant laws in detail and will be a good partner to them. We are that partner.”
May 9, 2021
No Update on When USPS Expects to Publish Vape Rules
The industry is still in flux. Many businesses closed or found more expensive shipping options. Some companies stopped shipping and then started again knowing that it could all end at any minute. As of this writing, however, the United States Postal Service (USPS) has yet to publish its final rule for mailing vaping products.
Credit: Tomasz Zajda
On April 19, the USPS issued guidance for exemptions to the requirements for mailing all vapor products, including cannabis. This was in response to the U.S. Congress placing electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS) under the stringent mailing requirements of the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act. That guidance only references that a rule could be published at any time and the ban on mailing vaping products to consumers would take effect immediately after the rule is published.
“A forthcoming final rule will determine whether electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS) may continue to be mailed pursuant to certain statutory exceptions that are currently administered through an application process,” the guidance states. “Until the final rule is issued, ENDS are not subject to the PACT Act …”
Many businesses ended shipping to consumers on or before April 26, a day before the assumed effective date of the USPS rules. The comment period closed March 22 and the USPS stated that it had received “numerous comments” pertaining to its proposed ENDS mailing rules. An e-mail to USPS media relations did not receive a response by this writing.
The USPS is required to use a definition of ENDS so broadly that it can be interpreted to include and inhalable electronic delivery system for any product. These means restrictions also apply to ENDS products such as: “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 [ENDS], without regard to whether the component, liquid, part, or accessory is sold separately from the device,” according to the law.
Many in the industry think Congress overreacted placing ENDS under the PACT Act requirements. The PACT Act was intended to stop manufacturers from avoiding taxes on combustible tobacco products, not keep them out of the hands of youth. Congress said it amended the PACT Act to protect kids from vaping. There has been no evidence that youth can easily purchase vaping products online.
This USPS says its just following the orders of Congress. It’s also turning out to be more complicated than just ending all vape mail. The USPS was inundated with exemption applications, none of which will be addressed until the final rule is published, according to the USPS.
“Despite our best efforts, in order to ensure thorough and thoughtful consideration of the complex issues and voluminous comments by industry, individual, and governmental stakeholders, the Postal Service is unable to publish a final rule by today’s target date,” said David P. Coleman, a USPS spokesperson, in an email to Marijuana Business Daily, adding that his agency would “finalize the rule as soon as possible” and “mailers should be prepared for implementation upon publication anytime.”
May 5, 2021
Vape Mail Ban Imminent, No Confirmed Date

Today could be the last day businesses can mail vapor products to consumers through the United States Postal Service (USPS). However, nothing is official just yet. The mail ban was predicted by many in the industry to go into effect on April 27, 2021, but the final rule must still be published in the Federal Register. Currently, effective March 28th, 2021, recipients of all vaping product(s) purchased online are required, by law, to present ID and sign for their delivery.
Credit: Sam Larussa
On April 19, the USPS issued guidance for exemptions to the requirements for mailing all vapor products, including cannabis. This was in response to the U.S. Congress placing electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS) under the stringent mailing requirements of the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act. That guidance only references that a rule could be published at any time and the ban on mailing vaping products to consumers would take effect immediately after the rule is published.
“A forthcoming final rule will determine whether electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS) may continue to be mailed pursuant to certain statutory exceptions that are currently administered through an application process,” the guidance states. “Until the final rule is issued, ENDS are not subject to the PACT Act …”
Many businesses ended shipping to consumers on or before April 26, a day before the assumed effective date of the USPS rules. The comment period closed March 22 and the USPS stated that it had received “numerous comments” pertaining to its proposed ENDS mailing rules. An e-mail to USPS media relations did not receive a response by this writing.
The USPS is required to use a definition of ENDS so broadly that it can be interpreted to include and inhalable electronic delivery system for any product. These means restrictions also apply to ENDS products such as: “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 [ENDS], without regard to whether the component, liquid, part, or accessory is sold separately from the device,” according to the law.
Violators are no longer dealing only with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The PACT Act requires companies to now register with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) as the enforcement agency for violating PACT Act requirements. Companies shipping vapor products must also file monthly reports with state tobacco tax administrators and retain federal, state and local compliance records that should be available upon request.
Unless changes are made, an exemption must be made for companies mailing cannabis vape products, such as CBD vape pens, as well as other potentially exempt mailings such as business-to-business mailings or research. Companies must create a list of all businesses that would receive mail and a list of detailed information on the business and products being shipped. The USPS also says it is unsure if normal PACT Act exemptions will apply to ENDS product. It will also not process any exemption requests until after the final rule is published.
Credit: blr60
“If any of the relevant exceptions are ultimately made available for [electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS)], then, given the highly decentralized nature of the ENDS industry relative to the industries historically covered by the PACT Act, the Postal Service anticipates receiving ENDS-related exception applications at a rate several orders of magnitude above the historic norm,” the guidance reads. “The Postal Service has not yet determined whether and to what extent those exceptions will be extended to ENDS. Early acceptance of applications would pose significant administrative challenges for the very Postal Service personnel who are developing the final rule amid substantial public comment under a tight timeframe.”
For hemp and CBD products with a THC concentration not exceeding 0.3 percent, the USPS states that mailers must retain, and prepare to make available upon request, “records establishing compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws pertaining to hemp production, processing, distribution, and sales, including the Agricultural Act of 2014 and the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018.” These records may include laboratory test results, licenses, and compliance reports.
The repercussions of the USPS vapor mail ban on the vaping industry will not be realized for some time. While the PACT Act requirements have forced many businesses to close, the vapor industry is used to dealing with a great amount of uncertainty. It does not seem like that is going to change any time soon.
April 27, 2021
USPS Publish ENDS Guidance, CBD Exemption Update
The United States Postal Service (USPS) has published its guidance for mailing vaping products on the Federal Register. The notice provides some clarity on USPS policy and outlined potential exceptions, which could include legal hemp and its derivatives. Until the final rule is issued, ENDS are not subject to the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act. The USPS also says that it will not review any exemption applications before the rule is finalized. The agency did, however, state that it has attempted to streamline the application process.
The USPS makes reference to possibly exempting cannabis products. Other exceptions include intrastate shipping within Alaska and Hawaii, shipment between businesses engaged in tobacco product manufacturing, distribution, wholesale, export, import, testing, investigation, or research, shipments by individuals for noncommercial purposes (including return of goods to manufacturer), limited shipments by manufacturers to adult smokers for consumer testing, and limited shipments by federal agencies for public health purposes.
Credit: Bruce Emmerling
When filing for exemption status for mailings related to possibly exempt situations such as legal hemp and CBD products, business-to-business and research, the USPS guidance suggests that applicants create a spreadsheet that contains the following data elements with respect to each sender and recipient address that they intend to identify in their exemption application:

Business or governmental entity name.

Address.

The Postal Service retail or business mail acceptance office(s) where each intended sender would tender shipments.

The Postal Service retail office(s) where each intended recipient would retrieve shipments.

A description of the business or governmental entity (e.g., battery manufacturer, retail store, wholesale distributor, testing laboratory).

For each permit or license, the issuing jurisdiction; the permit or license number; the expiration date (if any); and the activity covered by each current permit or license (e.g., general business operations; sale or manufacture of tobacco products or ENDS).

For each sender or addressee engaged in testing, investigation, or research, the entities authorizing the conduct of such activities; the expiration date (if any) of such authorization; and a brief statement of the subject of each authorization (e.g., health effects of flavor substances, medical effects of cannabidiol (“CBD”), battery safety testing).

The brand name and a description of each product intended to be shipped by each sender or to each addressee.

Whether any identified products or other intended shipments from each sender or to each addressee contain lithium batteries, nicotine, CBD, or tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”).

For products containing nicotine or THC, the intended quantity of the product per shipment and the concentration of nicotine or THC.

For products containing CBD with a THC concentration not exceeding 0.3 percent, whether the CBD derives from hemp.
“If any of the relevant exceptions are ultimately made available for [electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS)], then, given the highly decentralized nature of the ENDS industry relative to the industries historically covered by the PACT Act, the Postal Service anticipates receiving ENDS-related exception applications at a rate several orders of magnitude above the historic norm,” the guidance reads. “The Postal Service has not yet determined whether and to what extent those exceptions will be extended to ENDS. Early acceptance of applications would pose significant administrative challenges for the very Postal Service personnel who are developing the final rule amid substantial public comment under a tight timeframe.
Credit: blr60
“The Postal Service understands that those concerns are heightened by Congress’s decision to make ENDS nonmailable immediately upon publication of the final rule, rather than applying the 30-day notice period that typically follows a final rule under the Administrative Procedure Act. Therefore, this document is intended to clarify the state of the exception application process in advance of the final rule and to provide guidance to mailers interested in availing themselves of any exceptions that may ultimately be made available.”
Creating spreadsheets listing every address is an arduous task, according to many vaping industry businesses, however it’s just one of the requirements placed on business owners when the federal government placed electronic nicotine-delivery system (ENDS) products under the PACT Act rules. Among other requirements, the PACT Act also stipulates that manufacturers register with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearm and Explosives (ATF), as well as file monthly reports with state tobacco tax administrators.
Effective March 28th, 2021, recipients of all vaping product(s) purchased online are required, by law, to present ID and sign for their delivery. Many states are expecting businesses to start filing monthly reports on May 10 and the USPS is expecting to post the final rule and officially end the mailing of ENDS products to consumers on April 27. The rules are also having an impact internationally. The U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA), for example, has expressed “deep concern” about the measures, saying that U.K. business are affected.
April 21, 2021
First Tennessee Vapor Shipping Reports Due May 10
Tennessee has announced the starting date for its PACT Act requirements. The state’s Department of Revenue states that beginning May 10, 2021, and the 10th of every month thereafter, any entity shipping electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS) or related products into Tennessee from another state is required to report all such shipments to the department.
It is expected that all states will require PACT Act reporting to begin on May 10. Effective March 28th, 2021, recipients of all vaping products purchased online will be required to present ID and sign for their delivery. The United States Postal Service mail ban on vaping products will go into effect on April 27th, 2021. After this date, customers will no longer be able to receive vaping products by way of USPS delivery.
The amended PACT Act provides that any person who sells, transfers, or ships for profit ENDS in interstate commerce, or who advertises such products for sale, must register with the tobacco tax administrator of the state into which the shipment is made. The company must also file monthly reports with the tobacco tax administrator no later than the 10th day
of each month.
Under the PACT Act, a delivery seller faces violations that may result in civil penalties of up to
$5,000 for the first violation, $10,000 for the second violation, or 2percent of the gross sales during the prior 12 months. Additionally, there are penalties for common carriers or other persons providing delivery services of up to $2,500 for a first violation or $5,000 for any other violation within one year of a prior violation.
March 16, 2021
PACT Act Pushing Many Vape Shops to Close
The Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act (PACT) and the shipping problems it created has forced many companies to end all US online sales and many others have been forced out of business. Chris Innes, owner of Elevated Vaping in Houston, Texas, announced that he would closing his shop due to the PACT Act and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) stringent premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) requirements.
Vape Spot in Los Angeles announced it would be closing due to the PACT Act.
The Vape Spot in Los Angeles also announced they would be closing their store due to the PACT Act after 8 years helping smokers make the switch. Securience, parent to DuraSmoke, announced a merger with VapinDirect in order to stay in business. Logic will end all online sales on March 16. White Cloud Electronic Cigarettes said it would end all online US sales on March 26. Vapewild and Vistavape also announced that they would be closing up shop.
“If the increase in shipping costs wasn’t enough, the bill also imposes huge paperwork burdens on small retailers, and backs it up with threats of imprisonment for even innocent mistakes,” said Gregory Conley, President of the American Vaping Association. “This is not a law designed to regulate the mail-order sale of vaping products to adults; it’s an attempt to eliminate it.”
Effective March 28th, 2021, recipients of all vaping product(s) purchased online will be required, by law, to present ID and sign for their delivery. The USPS mail ban on vaping products will go into effect on April 27th, 2021. After this date, customers will no longer be able to receive vaping products by way of USPS delivery.
PACT Act regulations are stringent for online merchants that private shipping companies also will no longer deliver vapor products. “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,” said UPS spokesperson Matthew O’Connor in a statement.
Fedex began no longer accepting vapor products for delivery on March 1, 2021. DHL had already previously banned all shipments of nicotine-containing products and has now also ended all cannabis vapor product shipments.
If the PACT Act or PMTAs are forcing your shop to close, email timothy@vaporvoice.net and tell us about it.
March 14, 2021
PACT Act Forces White Cloud to End All Online U.S. Sales
White Cloud Electronic Cigarettes, a stalwart in the vaping industry, will end all online sales for U.S. customers on March 26 at 4pm. In a post on its Facebook page, the vapor company stated that it will continue to fill international orders (the vape mail ban is for U.S. customers) and will post a list of retail stores that will still carry White Cloud products.
“This was not a decision we wanted to make, especially after putting so much effort into submitting our PMTAs to the FDA and ensuring our products never reached the hands of minors. But, after spending the last couple of months searching for a solution to the vape mail ban, we’ve reached the end of all possible options and there is simply nothing we can do to continue shipping domestically,” the post states. “We will be fulfilling all U.S. orders until March 26, and inventory is running out rather quickly, so we urge you to place an order as soon as possible to ensure you’ll have a chance to stock up on your favorite White Cloud products for the last time.”
The company asks that vapor industry advocates send a message to Congress, as well as support the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association (CASAA), an advocacy group to raise awareness and protect consumers right to access reduced harm alternatives. CASAA has organized a campaign to fight the U.S. mail ban.
“CASAA has been made aware that some lawmakers are refusing to acknowledge the validity of organized consumer campaigns, and are insisting their constituents contact them directly via their website,” a recent CASAA statement says. “Therefore, CASAA is recommending that you also copy and paste your comments from our form below to the contact form on your lawmaker’s website. You can find their website by using our Legislator Lookup tool.”
If interested in becoming a distributor for White Cloud, the company asks that an email be sent via the contact form on its website: https://www.whitecloudelectroniccigarettes.com/contacts/
March 11, 2021
Minton: Mail Ban Will Push Vapers Back to Cigarettes

Amid the economic devastation caused by Covid-19, one industry has actually thrived: the cigarette business. Some people are smoking to relieve the emotional and economic stress of lockdowns. But many others returned to smoking when the lower-risk options they relied on, such as nicotine vapor products, became too expensive or hard to find when compared with the combustible tobacco available at every gas station and corner store.
Now, Congress wants to eliminate the ability for adults to receive e-cigarettes by mail, a measure that will reduce access to these life-saving options even after the lockdowns end, Minton writes in National Review.
Buried within the omnibus spending bill passed at the end of last year was the “Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act.” The Act, colloquially called the “vape mail ban,” prohibits the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from delivering nicotine or cannabis vaping products.
One might think that e-cigarette makers could simply switch to private carriers, such as FedEx or UPS. But these private carriers don’t deliver to all addresses, particularly in rural areas. Private carriers actually rely on USPS to make “last mile” deliveries. Even if private carriers did deliver everywhere in the U.S., most — including FedEx, UPS, and DHL — have yielded to the anti-vaping mob, voluntarily ending e-cigarette deliveries.
For any carrier hoping to fill the gap, the new law also imposes strict requirements on records-keeping, tax collection, and reporting. These requirements will significantly raise the cost of e-cigarette deliveries, which will be passed on to consumers. And that added expense, even if relatively small, will be enough to discourage many adults — particularly those in lower-income brackets — from continuing to use e-cigarettes.
Supporters of the law seem to think that if they force adults to quit vaping, they will simply quit using nicotine altogether. They’re dead wrong.
Study after study has shown that policies that make e-cigarettes more expensive can reduce e-cigarette use. But they also increase smoking. The same is true for convenience: The harder it is for smokers to access e-cigarettes, the less willing and able they’ll be to choose e-cigarettes over combustible cigarettes, which are available almost everywhere.
Perhaps some think that more adult smoking is a small price to pay to protect children. More adults smoking is, in their mind, a small price to pay to stop the small percentage of minors willing to break the law to get their hands on e-cigarettes.
MIchelle Minton / Credit: Competitive Enterprise Institute
As the name of the law implies, the purpose of the Preventing Online Sales of E-cigarettes to Children Act is to stop those under 21 years old from illegally purchasing nicotine products online. But if that were really the goal, there are less-extreme approaches, such as requiring an ID check on delivery, a service offered by all major delivery services (and USPS) and that has proved sufficient for alcohol deliveries.
But that’s not the purpose of the law. The real goal is to hurt the legal vaping industry, which the vape mail ban will almost certainly do. It will also be a boon to the illegal vaping market, as well as the traditional cigarette business. What it won’t do is stop youth from buying e-cigarettes. Ironically, it may only make it easier, as less respectable businesses step up to fill the gap in the market that the law is creating.
Most of us would prefer to buy the things we want from licensed, reputable businesses, especially given the dangers associated with illicit goods. But, if regulation prohibits those things or makes them too expensive, it rapidly opens the door for illegal markets. The more unmet demand there is, the larger the illegal market. For example, New York City’s high cigarette taxes led to a vibrant underground market for cheap cigarettes.
The bootleg cigarette business became so widespread, in fact, that by 2013 more than 60 percent of all cigarettes sold in the state were illegal. The continued prohibition on recreational cannabis in some states and high taxes in states where it is legal also explain the continued existence of an illicit THC market, which in 2019 caused thousands of people to be hospitalized and several deaths due to contaminated products.
The illegal market for nicotine vapor is small at the moment, because there remains a relatively vibrant, legal market for adults. But it will grow if lawmakers continue their irrational push to make e-cigarettes as expensive and hard-to-get as possible. And the larger it grows, the easier it will be for youth to buy these products online. That is because, in addition to ignoring shipping laws and skirting taxes, dealers on Snapchat and Facebook aren’t likely to verify the age of their customers.
So, by banning vape mail, Congress is not only kicking legal vapor businesses when they are down, forcing adults back to smoking tobacco, and forfeiting much-needed tax revenue; it is also making youth vaping more likely and more dangerous by encouraging an illicit vapor market and forcing consumers into it.
Michelle Minton is a senior fellow specializing in consumer policy for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free-market public policy organization based in Washington, D.C. The author’s opinion may not be the same as Vapor Voice staff.
March 11, 2021
Now Open: Securience Merging With VapinDirect
In an effort to secure its commercial customers, Securience, LLC is merging with VapinDirect, an online vaping wholesaler. The parent to the DuraSmoke, Forge, AmericaneLiquidStore, and VapeMoar brands will officially become a part of VapinDirect beginning March 31, 2021, according to an email to its customers.
Credit: VapinDirect

Last month, Securience announced it would be shuttering its business. In a letter to its partners, the company stated that the recent amendment of the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act to include vaping products, which prohibits the shipping of vapor products through the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), was the catalyst for the decision to close the company’s doors.
“A top priority of ours has always been to ensure guidelines and legal rules are held to the utmost standards. PACT Act raises these standards, and we want to ensure all our customers that they will be maintained,” the email stated. “This merger will allow us to continue to distribute products business to business
Based in Green Bay, Wisconssin, VapinDirect will add Securience’s manufacturing capabilities in Wauwatosa. VapinDirect will also be adding another 14,0000 products to Securience’s existing catalog.
“VapinDirect is larger and thus more financially stable, having about [five times] our employment level, and thus better able to manage growth and change in the industry,” the email states. “Our existing employees will be added to their team and will continue to use the same ISO-certified processes and equipment in the same Wauwatosa location.”
The email states that the company will be contacting its wholesale customers over the coming weeks to introduce VapinDirect. The company will also be clarifying its procedures regarding shipping. “There are many other challenges within the industry concerning PACT and this merger is one of the many ways we will continue to find a way,” the email states.
March 9, 2021
U.S. Vapor Mail Ban Reverberates Internationally

Photo courtesy of UKVIA
The impact of the pending U.S. restrictions on shipping vapor products is being felt internationally. The U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA), for example, has expressed “deep concern” about the measures, saying that U.K. business are affected.
In late December, Congress voted into law a $2.3 trillion coronavirus relief and government funding bill that contains a provision banning the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from delivering vapor products.
The USPS was already prohibited from delivering cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products to consumers under the PACT Act. The law passed in December extends the act’s original definition of “cigarette” to include electronic nicotine-delivery systems.
Tobacco and vapor companies may use private services to ship their products to consumers, but the PACT Act requires them to register with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the tobacco tax administrators of the states into which a shipment is made. Delivery sellers are further required to verify the age and identity of the customer at purchase and maintain records of delivery sales for a period of four years after the date of sale, creating substantial administrative burdens.
Critically for the vapor industry, the most popular carriers, Federal Express and United Parcel Service, have recently announced that they would cease all deliveries of vapor products.
“We have had orders not being collected, and our own shops not receiving stock in a reliable manner, all of which impacts customers,” said Joe Bevan, director of UKVIA member Celtic Vapours. “As the majority of our business is currently online, we need efficient delivery of stock to provide the quickest service.”
“At a time when many vapers are unfortunately unable to visit their local vape store, this is making it even more difficult for them to receive the consumable products they rely upon,” said Richard Russell, operations manager Vape Distribution. “Certain carriers perhaps don’t realize that this action could lead vapers to revert back to smoking.”
“The vaping supply chain is a global one, bringing together resources and expertise from around the world,” said John Dunne, director general at UKVIA. “It is bitterly disappointing to see these American restrictions having a negative impact in the U.K., but the nature of the supply chain makes it inevitable. In the EU too we are hearing of vaping businesses being turned away from major carriers.
“The potential impact on public health is grave, as so many people are relying on shipped goods as a lifeline during the pandemic. Without proper access to harm-reduction products we know people can revert to smoking cigarettes, today in the U.S. but perhaps tomorrow in the U.K. With businesses already struggling through lockdown, and our health services under great strain, supply chain issues really are the last thing we need.
“I call on the distribution industry, many of whom have been partners of the vaping industry for many years, to do all they can to support their U.K. customers, and to avoid the blanket implementation of U.S. restrictions worldwide.
“Furthermore, I call on the U.K. government, to ensure that carriers in this country are free to continue to deliver vaping products to retailers and direct to consumers, and to resist any urge to follow the U.S. down this regressive route.”
March 8, 2021