America’s controversial vape mail ban is having a knock-on effect in the UK, according to the industry.
Congress voted into law a $2.3 trillion coronavirus relief and government funding bill in December, which includes a ban on the US Postal Service (USPS) from delivering vape products.
The law extends the ban on shipping cigarettes and tobacco under the PACT Act to include e-cigarettes.
FedEx and UPS also recently announced that they would stop delivering vape products, further limiting an already restrictive vape market for US consumers.
Joe Bevan, director of Wales-based Celtic Vapours, said:
“We have had orders not being collected, and our own shops not receiving stock in a reliable manner, all of which impacts customers.
“As the majority of our business is currently online, we need efficient delivery of stock to provide the quickest service.”
John Dunne said it was ‘bitterly disappointing’ but ‘inevitable’ that US restrictions were affecting the wider vape industry.
The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) director general said that restrictions could have a severe impact on public health as people continue to rely on shipping services 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.”
John Dunne, UKVIA
Dunne urged the distribution industry to support UK consumers to help prevent US-like restrictions from being implemented internationally.
He said: “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.”
Source: Tobacco Reporter
