Tag: PACT Act

TSFA Leader Says PACT Act Impacts Older Vapers More
When former President Donald Trump signed the amended Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act, or PACT Act, into law late last year, the goal was to stop teenagers from buying nicotine vape products online.
However, the Tennessee Smoke Free Association’s (TSFA) executive director Dimitris Agrafiotis cited the “Youth source of acquisition for E-Cigarettes” survey from 2019 that shows most teenagers don’t get their e-cigarette products online. Instead, the survey, published in Science Direct, found that most kids get them from friends.
Dimitris Agrafiotis Credit: TSFA
A quarter of youth surveyed reported living with someone who uses e-cigarettes (26.1 percent). The most common location or source for getting e-cigarettes was a friend (51.5 percent), followed by a family member (16.4 percent), a vape shop (16.2 percent), and a retail location (12.3 percent).
Few of the survey participants reported getting e-cigarettes from another person that was not a family member or a friend (6.1 percent), the Internet (3.8 percent), or another place not listed (3.5 percent). The majority of adolescents reported getting e-cigarettes from one place (92 percent, data not shown), according to the survey data.
Agrafiotis says this law will do more harm to the older generation who rely on vape products to quit smoking cigarettes.
“The main point that I wanted to get across in this story is that in every corner of America you can buy cigarettes and a much less harmful product … [than] smoking is being squashed and eliminated,” Agrafiotis said.
If anyone wants to try to make a change, there are two things you can do, says Agrafiotis. First, call your representatives in Congress. Second, submit a comment to the U.S. Postal Service. Interested parties have until March 22nd to comment.
The PACT Act requires the Postal Service to begin enforcement starting on April 26, 2021.
March 7, 2021
Logic Ending All U.S. Online Product Sales March 16
Logic brand e-cigarettes will end the online sales of its products, according to an email to customers. “Unfortunately, as of March 16, 2021, we will discontinue online sales of Logic products. Due to recent regulations, Logic will be unable to ship online orders after this date,” the email states. “Logic has worked tirelessly to make sure we provide you with the best possible vaping and shopping experience. Always have, always will.”
Credit: Logic
The company states that the recent amendment to the 2009 All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act prevents the company from being able to mail its products to consumers. In late December, former President Trump voted into law a $2.3 trillion coronavirus relief bill that contained a provision banning the 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 (ENDS).
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 (FedEx) and United Parcel Service (UPS), have recently announced that they would cease all deliveries of vapor products.
Age-verified adult consumers can order Logic products at logicvapes.us until March 16 at 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. In order to help consumers locate Logic products, the company has updated and improved its online store locator.
“We believe that all age-verified adult vapers and smokers should have the choice to purchase vapor products online to be delivered to their home. However, as a responsible company, we always remain committed to regulatory compliance,” the email states. “We’re dedicated to doing whatever it takes to deliver pleasurable vaping moments you can truly enjoy.
Acquired by Japan Tobacco in 2015, Logic is not the first vapor company to cease online sales in the wake of the shipping ban. In February, Securience, which manufactures Durasmoke, Forge and other brands, announced it would be closing its doors in March due to the restrictions. Lizard Juice e-liquids also said it would stop mailing products to consumers.
When the legislation took effect, experts predicted that small companies would bear the brunt of the measure.
March 4, 2021
Public Comment Begins for USPS ENDS Mail Rules
Interested parties will have 30 days to comment on the U.S. Postal Service rules for mailing electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS). The USPS posted the rules on Wednesday and they were published in the Federal Register today. Comments must be submitted by March 22. The rules will presumably go into effect on March 27.
Credit:USPS
“The Postal Service proposes to revise Publication 52, Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail, to incorporate new statutory restrictions on the mailing of electronic nicotine delivery systems,” the listing reads. “Such items would be subject to the same prohibition as cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, subject to many of the same exceptions.”
The Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act, which placed ENDS under the PACT Act, was enacted on December 27, 2020 and becomes effective 90 days after enactment (March 27, 2021). The USPO rule states that the agency will only mail ENDS products under narrowly defined circumstances:

Noncontiguous States: intrastate shipments within Alaska or Hawaii;

Business/Regulatory Purposes: shipments transmitted between verified and authorized tobacco industry businesses for business purposes, or between such businesses and federal or state agencies for regulatory purposes;

Certain Individuals: lightweight shipments mailed between adult individuals, limited to 10 per 30-day period;

Consumer Testing: limited shipments of cigarettes sent by verified and authorized manufacturers to adult smokers for consumer testing purposes;

Public Health: limited shipments by federal agencies for public health purposes under similar rules applied to manufacturers conducting consumer testing.
Many business were unsure if B2B mailing would be allowed. The unpublished rules say they will be allowed. According to Azim Chowdhury, a partner at Keller and Heckman, the PACT Act has historically exempted businesses-to-business deliveries from the USPS ban.
Specifically, the USPS ban does not extend to tobacco products mailed only for business purposes between legally operating businesses that have all applicable state and federal government licenses or permits and are engaged in tobacco product manufacturing, distribution, wholesale, export, import, testing, investigation, or research.
“Companies seeking to use USPS for business-to-business deliveries must first submit an application to the USPS Pricing and Classification Service Center and comply with several other shipping, labeling, and delivery requirements,” said Chowdhury.
Email comments, containing the name and address of the commenter, may be sent to: PCFederalRegister@usps.gov, with a subject line of “E-Cigarette Restrictions.” Faxed comments are not accepted.
February 19, 2021
US Post Office to Publish ENDS Mailing Rules Feb. 19
The United States Postal Service (USPS) is scheduled to publish in the Federal Register its rules for mailing electronic nicotine-delivery system (ENDS) products tomorrow, Feb. 19. The unpublished rule states “that the prohibition on mailing ENDS will apply immediately ‘on and after’ the date of the final rule.”
Credit: F. Muhammad
However, the Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act, which placed ENDS under the PACT Act, was enacted on December 27, 2020 and becomes effective 90 days after enactment (March 27, 2021). The USPO rule states that the agency will mail vapor products under narrowly defined circumstances:

Noncontiguous States: intrastate shipments within Alaska or Hawaii;

Business/Regulatory Purposes: shipments transmitted between verified and authorized tobacco industry businesses for business purposes, or between such businesses and federal or state agencies for regulatory purposes;

Certain Individuals: lightweight shipments mailed between adult individuals, limited to 10 per 30-day period;

Consumer Testing: limited shipments of cigarettes sent by verified and authorized manufacturers to adult smokers for consumer testing purposes;

Public Health: limited shipments by federal agencies for public health purposes under similar rules applied to manufacturers conducting consumer testing.
Many business were unsure if B2B mailing would be allowed. The unpublished rules say they will be allowed. According to Azim Chowdhury, a partner at Keller and Heckman, the PACT Act has historically exempted businesses-to-business deliveries from the USPS ban. Specifically, the USPS ban does not extend to tobacco products mailed only for business purposes between legally operating businesses that have all applicable state and federal government licenses or permits and are engaged in tobacco product manufacturing, distribution, wholesale, export, import, testing, investigation, or research.
“Companies seeking to use USPS for business-to-business deliveries must first submit an application to the USPS Pricing and Classification Service Center and comply with several other shipping, labeling, and delivery requirements,” said Chowdhury.
The USPS rules also state that the listed exceptions cannot feasibly be applied to inbound or outbound international mail, mail to or from the Freely Associated States, or mail presented at overseas Army Post Office (APO), Fleet Post Office (FPO), or Diplomatic Post Office (DPO) locations and destined to addresses in the United States. Because of this inability, all ENDS products “in such mail are nonmailable, without exception.”
In addition to the non-mailing provisions, the PACT Act requires anyone who sells cigarettes or smokeless tobacco to register with the ATF and the tobacco tax administrators of the states into which a shipment is made or in which an advertisement or offer is disseminated, according to Chowdhury. Retailers who ship cigarettes or smokeless tobacco to consumers are further required to label packages as containing tobacco, verify the age and identity of the customer at purchase, use a delivery method (other than USPS) that checks ID and obtains an adult customer signature at delivery, and maintain records of delivery sales for a period of four years after the date of sale, among other things.
Excluded from the statutory definition are products approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for sale as “tobacco cessation products or for other therapeutic purposes and marketed and sold solely for such purposes.” The USPO also proposes to treat ENDS as a standalone category, “albeit one generally subject to the same restrictions and exceptions as cigarettes, consistent with the statute.”
February 18, 2021
PACT Act Forces DuraSmoke Manufacture Out of Business
Securience, LLC, parent to the DuraSmoke, Forge, AmericaneLiquidStore, and VapeMoar brands, will be going out of business at the end of March 2021.
Credit: Durasmoke
In a letter to its partners, the company states that the recent passing of the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act, 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. The company cites its inability to mail product to consumers, however, the PACT Act also prevents B2B shipments by USPS, according to a representative from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) who spoke during the recent Tobacco and Vapor Law Symposium presented by the law firm of Keller Heckman.
“Because of the complexity of these new shipping rules, FedEx, UPS, and DHL have all informed us that they will stop shipping vaping products completely — including our shipments to you, our wholesale vape shop customers, and distributors,” wrote Securience owner Don Muehlbauer. “While we have looked at some alternatives, given the geographic locations of our customers, the significant increase in compliance costs, and our capabilities as a small business, we have been unable to find a feasible alternative and have been left in a situation that makes continuing business impossible.”
Securience opened its doors in 2008 and has since been a staple in the vaping industry. Muehlbauer stated that he anticipates the PACT Act will not only impact his company, but many small e-liquid manufacturers. “Those manufacturers who are able to afford the increased compliance costs will have increased shipping costs that may impact [retail] shops,” he wrote. “The last day we will be able to accept orders for shipping is March 25 or until supplies run out.”
February 12, 2021
Small Vapor Businesses to Bear Brunt of U.S. Mail Ban

The outlook for many small vapor companies and online retailers looks bleak following the enactment of new rules that prohibit the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from shipping e-cigarettes, according to Keller and Heckman’s Azim Chowdhury and Galen Rende.
Writing on The Continuum of Risk law blog, the attorneys discuss the fallout of a recent amendment to the 2009 All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act.
In late December, Congress overturned a veto from former President Trump and voted into law a $2.3 trillion coronavirus relief and government funding bill that contains a provision banning the 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 (ENDS).
Azim Chowdhury
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.
The prohibition on the mailing of ENDS is scheduled to take effect after the USPS promulgates regulations clarifying the mail ban, which it is required to do within 120 days of the enactment—i.e., by April 27, 2021.
February 4, 2021
USPS Mail Ban of ENDS Could Also Include Hemp Products
Words say a lot. It’s especially true in the rule of law. When Congress approved the recent appropriations bill to keep the government running, lawmakers also passed the “Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act,” which prohibits the United States Post Office (USPS) from shipping vaping products.
Credit Anne Onyme
While the legislation was geared towards nicotine vaping products, the law is so broadly defined that hemp businesses must also prepare to comply, according to Patricia Kovacevic, founder and president of PK Regulatory Strategy. The legislation takes effect in late March – 90 days after its published in the Federal Register. The USPS then has 120 days to issue its rules.
Speaking during a Smoke-Free Alternatives Trade Association (SFATA) webinar, Kovacevic said that the legislation states that an electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) is defined as any device that “delivers nicotine, flavor, or any other substance to the user inhaling from the device.”
“It’s very broadly defined. It really is any other substance. So even if you inhale, I’m being ridiculous, the air [if inhaled from] a device is still covered,” she said. “So, unfortunately, it’s very broad. That’s actually what makes it worrisome. But that also could be its flaw. [The definition being too inclusive] could be an opportunity to challenge the rule.”
According to the legislation, anyone selling vaping products must:

Register with the U.S. Attorney General

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]”
Both UPS and FedEx have rules against shipping traditional cigarettes and say they will extend those rules to include ENDS products. Violators can receive up to three years in prison, face steep fines and potentially lose their business.
January 22, 2021
U.S. Congress Bans USPS From Mailing ENDS Products
The U.S. Congress has banned all electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products from being mailed by the United States Postal Service (USPS). The rule change was lumped into the Covid-19/ omnibus budget bill passed yesterday. The proposal, collectively called the Consolidated Appropriations Act,
2021, now awaits a signature from President Trump to become law. Trump is expected to sign the bill later today.
Credit: Motion Studios
The updated provision redefines the word “cigarette” under the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT Act), which is part of the federal Jenkins Act, to include ENDS products.
By including ENDS products within the PACT Act, manufacturers and retailers will be banned from shipping vaping products to consumers using the USPS within the next 120 days. All orders of vaping products will be required to ship using an alternate (and considerably more expensive) service that verifies the recipient of a package is at least 21 years old.
Beginning 90 days after enactment, all online retailers also will be required to file monthly reports with native, state and local governments disclosing the identity, address and product received for all customers, as well as remit any excise taxes owed.
Many vaping industry advocates are angered by the text of the proposal because legislators used an expansive definition of what qualifies as an “electronic nicotine delivery system” that seems to include products that may not contain nicotine. The term “means any electronic device that, through an aerosolized solution, delivers nicotine, flavor, or any other substance to the user inhaling from the device,” the legislation states.
Greg Conley, president of the American Vaping Association, said that despite the inclusion of the word “nicotine,” the definition used in the bill is so broad that it appears to capture vaping liquids containing CBD and standalone devices intended for vaping THC or other substances.
“The sponsors of this legislation repeatedly refused to consider common sense amendments that would have protected youth, while also not needlessly shutting down small businesses. Thanks to their intransigence, the language included in the omnibus is so sloppily drafted that it will also ban the USPS from shipping CBD liquids intended to be vaporized, as well as devices intended for use with THC or other non-nicotine substances,” said Conley. “There are still 36 million American adults smoking combustible cigarettes and over 400,000 will die from smoking-related illnesses this year alone. The American people should start questioning why their government is so intent on making it harder for adults to quit smoking.”
According to its website, UPS prohibits the shipment of all cigarettes and little cigars to consumers, regardless of destination state. Other tobacco product shipments must be made using the “UPS Delivery Confirmation Adult Signature Required service, requiring the signature of an adult 21 years of age or older upon delivery.”
Trump has the authority to use a line item veto on the provision and still pass the larger bill, though that is not expected.
December 22, 2020