The Covid-19 relief bill passed by the U.S. Congress on Dec. 21 prohibits the U.S. Postal Service from delivering packages containing e-cigarettes, reports The Winston Salem Journal.
It also subjects e-cigarettes to other rules that currently govern online cigarette sales. Among other things, online retailers will be required to use private shipping services that collect an adult signature at the point of delivery, collect all applicable local and state taxes, and send each taxing state’s tax administrator a list of all transactions with customers in their state.
Critics said the legislation would place a considerable burden on vapor companies.
“We see this policy as mainly advancing the trend we’re already seeing in the market—which is that the large, well-capitalized manufacturers will be poised to pay the costs to be in compliance with the new more burdensome policies,” said FiscalNote analyst Stefanie Miller.
“Meanwhile, smaller manufacturers and retailers likely fall short and will be forced to exit the market.”
“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,” American Vaping Association President Gregory Conley said in a statement. “This is not a law designed to regulate the mail-order sale of vaping products to adults; it’s an attempt to eliminate it.”
The new rules could go into effect as soon as 120 days.