Keep Vape Mail Legal [Concluded]

12/27/20

Congress passed and President Trump signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. On page 2669, the bill included language that will ultimately prohibit the US Postal Service from delivering vapor products to consumers.

The legislation does two things:

1. [Effective 90 days after passage, Mar. 27, 2021] Amends the “Jenkins Act” to include vapor products in regulations governing shipments of cigarettes and other tobacco products. The Jenkins Act requires tobacco (and soon vapor) retailers to report interstate sales of cigarettes to the buyers’ state tobacco tax administrator. (Internet Cigarette Sales)
2. [Effective 120 days after passage, Apr. 26, 2021] Directs the US Postal Service to promulgate regulations prohibiting shipping vapor products through the mail.

While the amendments to the Jenkins Act will come into effect without any further debate, the regulations from the USPS require notice-and-comment, as part of the rulemaking process. CASAA is following these regulations and will put out an alert when public comment is open.

12/23/20

Language that would prohibit the USPS from delivering vapor products is included in this year’s omnibus budget bill. There is little chance that senators will take the language out on their own, so we need President Trump to weigh in by demanding that the ban on vape mail be removed.

Take Action Now by sending President Trump a message urging him to have the ban on vape mail removed from the budget!

[Note] It is our understanding that the WH comment line may be closed for the holidays.

12/10/20
CASAA has learned that House Democrats are pushing for S.1253 (Vape Mail Ban) to be included in this year’s must-pass budget bill. Now is the time to call and write your representative in congress and urge them to oppose this effort.

08/20/20
August typically means that the US House of Representatives is in recess. But this year, it is likely that lawmakers will need to return to D.C. in order to pass COVID-19 legislation. While it is unlikely that non-COVID related bills will be considered over the break, we are monitoring the House for any surprises.

For those who are curious about up-to-the-minute information on federal legislation, you can follow the announcements and live proceedings of the US House of Representatives here, on your desktop or phone with an app developed by House Majority Leader, Steny Hoyer.

Please continue contacting your lawmakers and urge them to keep vape mail legal!

07/18/20
S. 1253 has already passed the Senate and will now be voted on by the House, maybe as soon as Monday (7/20). If passed, this bill will outlaw vape mail through the US Postal Service and within six months it will be illegal to ship any vapor products via USPS.

07/06/20
S. 1253, which would prohibit shipping vapor products through the USPS (just like the ban on mailing cigarettes) was passed by the Senate on July 2, and the text of the amended bill is finally available on congress .gov.

While a significant amendment was adopted that requires an extensive list of research to be completed, the effect of the bill remains the same: No vapor products will be allowed to be shipped via the USPS. This means increased costs to consumers and new barriers to access for law-abiding adults.

07/02/20
S. 1253, which would prohibit mailing vapor products through the USPS and require signature on delivery (with added cost) may be heading to a vote by the full senate within the hour.

If you think that protecting access to low-risk vapor products for people who can’t get to a vape shop is valuable, then now is the time to surge emails to your senators.

06/29/20
Last week, CASAA members sent more than 3000 messages to congress urging officials to reject a ban on vape mail shipped via the USPS. Despite your response, S. 1253 is getting closer to moving forward by the day.

We need a sustained response to this bill in order to demonstrate to lawmakers that many people rely on getting vapor products by mail and that consumers shouldn’t be paying unnecessary extra costs in order to access safer alternatives to smoking.

06/25/20
In November, CASAA alerted our members to S. 1253, which would prohibit the USPS from shipping vapor products and impose adult signature on delivery requirements for independent carriers like FedEx and UPS. Several months and reams of COVID-19 legislation later, S. 1253 is likely moving back to being fast-tracked through the Senate.

11/13/19
S 1253, which is the Senate version of HR 3842, is being fast-tracked through committee. This bill would prohibit the U.S. Postal Service from accepting packages of vapor products for delivery.