What Do You Mean There’s a Vape Mail Ban? What Am I Supposed to do now??

It’s the year 2021. Covid-19 is still in the air. All industries have moved towards offering delivery services. Except for vape products – those are heading back to the pre-courier dark ages. Remember those days? When you had to physically walk into a shop like our ancestors did. When you had to literally carry groceries into a vehicle instead of having them delivered straight to your porch. Worse still, it’s 2021, which means not all vape shops have an actual store. 

Many businesses are predominantly online. What saved them from overheads and rent costs in the past are now the same reasons they are threatened with closure in the future. The fact of the matter is, with unemployment at an all-time high in the United States of America, passing bills such as the Pact Act that threaten more businesses is a surprising move on the government’s part. But this isn’t a political piece. This is a roadmap on where we go from here…

Ok, but what’s the real story?

Let’s take a trip back to 2019, before the masks and the “2-week lockdown” that we all know and love.

Two American states, New York and Michigan decided they wanted to ban vapes. This was followed by Senators Dick Durbin, Lisa Murkowski, Jeff Merkley, and Richard Blumenthal urging the FDA towards an e-cig ban which included pulling pod-based devices from markets. One of the biggest chain stores in the United States led the ban by not restocking vape products at all (why Walmart? We believed in you!). To draw a little comparison here, approximately one billion people on the planet earth smoke cigarettes, and a large chunk inhabit the United States. Many of these people choose to switch to e-cigarettes and vape devices as they are less harmful. However, these individuals were left out of the picture. 

The main focus, and the real reason that vapes got the attention they did, was that certain companies (who shall remain unnamed at this time) thought targeting kids in their marketing campaigns was a good idea. Working in the tobacco and nicotine industry means certain ethical constraints must be followed. Since these were not met by one of the leading e-cigarette companies, a vape juice ban on flavored products followed suit. However, while lawmakers were focused on banning vapes, they didn’t seem to note that youth smoking – which is undoubtedly more dangerous – was decreasing.

Long story short…

Basically, as with any product in the world’s history, people decided to make their own potions. They didn’t follow vaping instructions, nor did consumers pay heed to the fact that they couldn’t ignore instructions for vaping devices. Deaths were reported from vaping, but there is little proof to determine that the cause of death was directly linked to vaping. Even so, this gave lawmakers even more of a reason to ban vapes. 

By October 2019, there was a vape juice ban that extended to many counties across America. In a fun turn of events, in the second week of November, Trump reversed the vape ban his administration was working towards. Does this mean there is hope for the current ban? Will the USPS Shipping Regulations regarding vapes and vape products be reversed?

Speaking of USPS Shipping Regulations

Vapers across America went into a frenzy after the 2021 Omnibus Spending was signed by former President Donald Trump. Since December 27, 2020, the vape community has been trying to understand what this means for us. Does the vape mail ban mean a total and complete ban on all vape-related products? Will the ban be upheld in all 50 states? Is the ban permanent? How will we survive?! To this, we say… we got you! 

USPS regulations are set and ready to go live any day now. A chunk of the vape community is worried due to decreased access. Once the ACT is in effect, there will be a total ban on vape juices being shipped from supplier to consumer. However, just because mailing vape cartridges are no longer possible does not mean you don’t have other options. 

The vape mail ban will mean most vapers will have to physically purchase vape juice and other vape products from brick and mortar stores. If this doesn’t sound too bad to you, consider yourself lucky. Banning the delivery of vape products comes with its own set of adverse effects. For one, when the vape mail ban goes into effect, and you want to get products delivered to you, you’d have to get them through a private courier service. Doesn’t sound too bad, right? Except finding a private courier for e-juice delivery will be a task and a half. 

Courier services following USPS’s lead in the vape mail ban include FedEx and UPS. In a statement, UPS said: “Effective April 5, 2021, UPS will prohibit the shipment of all Vaping Products throughout its domestic network including import and export and including but not limited to e-cigarette devices and e-liquids or gels, regardless of nicotine content. “Vaping Product” means any product intended for human consumption by inhalation that relies on vaporization or aerosolization, including but not limited to e-liquid, electronic cigarettes, electronic cigars, electronic cigarillos, electronic pipes, electronic vaping product delivery pens, hookah pens, and any other similar devices that rely on vaporization or aerosolization.”

Stock Up While You Can

The vape mail ban is not yet in full effect, so now is your chance to stock up on all necessary vape products. Mailing vape cartridges will soon no longer be possible, which is why you should make sure you are fully stocked with products you don’t have access to through a vape shop near you. This brings us to our second point. 

Are You Aware of Your Local Vape Shops?

There may be a vaping ban on mailing products, but no law states you cannot buy e-cigarettes in-store! The only e-cigarette laws in the current predicament are that vape and nicotine products cannot be sold to minors (aged under 21 in the USA). We suggest reconnecting with your local stores. For one, you can use the Artisan Vapor store finder to make sure you have access to stores closest to you. 

Secondly, make sure you follow your local vape stores on social media and subscribe to their newsletters. Doing so ensures you can stay updated on how and when you can mail vape juice, e-cigs, and other vape products. If there are any changes or stores find services that can make deliveries, their customers will be the first to know. We managed to create more avenues for access during the Covid-19 pandemic, and we will definitely adapt to the e-cig ban. 

The vaping community needs to remember that no law or bill proposes banning vape products or vape juice yet. However, there have been specific brands that have had to discontinue flavored e-juice in particular states. As of now, your best bet to find out what states ban vape juice is through a quick online search.

Don’t Lose Hope!

There is clearly a tussle between lawmakers and voters on whether vape products should be banned altogether. However, there was also a time when weed wasn’t legal in America, but we’re slowly coming to terms with its legalization. The vape ban is just one of many issues that can and have been overturned. Of course, it’s frustrating for consumers to wait it out, but vapers across the US have already been signing petitions and speaking to their congress members about their right to consumer products. Each signature matters, so you can reach out to sign against banning vape and vape product deliveries.

Hang Tight!

Vape companies are looking for ways to make sure our customers can have access to their favorite products. There may be a vape mail ban, but adults can still purchase products through private courier companies. For this, you’ll have to make sure someone over 21 is available to collect the order and sign for it. This may be a hassle for the time being, but we will overcome it! 

Even alcohol deliveries are not allowed; however, you can find companies who will deliver to their customers, and it is perfectly legal to do so! Yes, the larger companies are abiding by the pact act, but so what? It’s a waiting game, and the vape community has been through it before. We will endure! Plus, we’re pretty sure this means vape companies will come together to come up with their own delivery service methods. You just need to stay tuned for more!