The PACT act of 2010 restricted the shipment of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. In December of 2020 the act was amended to include vaping products effective on March 27, 2021. Among other things, the PACT act mandates:
- We must collect all state excise taxes
- All shipments must be signed for by a 21+ adult with ID. We must now verify that all customers are 21+ for all products not just tobacco/nicotine products.
- The postal service must prohibit shipment of vapor products. We are expecting their regulations to be published and effective around the end of April, 2021.
- UPS, FedEx, and DHL have voluntarily prohibited shipments of vapor products as well
Why is there a surcharge on my order?
In a physical retail store the excise taxes are usually hidden in the price of the product so you may have had no clue just how high your state’s taxes were. Some states impose taxes based on the wholesale cost of the product. In those states we are able to declare a much lower wholesale cost on the eliquids which we manufacture. Some states charge a set price per milliliter of liquid. Yet others have different rates for “closed system” pods and disposables than for “open system” bottles of liquid.
Since we sell to multiple states we now are required to pay the excises taxes on most of our products. We are working with multiple companies to create the plugins to allow us to calculate the taxes & show them as a separate line item. Unfortunately, this software won’t be available until around July 2021. Until then we have opted to add a surcharge onto each order to offset the increased taxes we must pay.
Why is shipping so expensive?
As of March 27, 2021 we are required to ship “Adult ID Required” shipping methods for all of our products (not just nicotine/tobacco products) which are significantly more expensive than regular shipping. With all the major carriers prohibiting vapor products there are simply no “cheap” shipping methods available anymore.
Will you still be able to ship orders to me?
We are working on joining a network of regional and local couriers to deliver our packages. Unfortunately some customers will experience interruptions in delivery as we work to expand coverage into their states. Some rural customers may not be deliverable at all. Shipping times will be slower and tracking will be difficult at first. We hope to improve both as we implement this new system, but ask for your patience in the meantime.
State & Local Laws
Aside from the federal law there are some state and municipal bans that we must enforce.
We cannot ship any tobacco or nicotine products, including hardware to Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
We cannot ship any eliquids to Indiana.
We cannot ship eliquid flavors besides tobacco to Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Michigan or New Jersey.
We cannot ship flavored pods or disposables besides tobacco to Maryland.
We will keep updating as this is a fluid situation and we are doing our best to comply with all aspects of the PACT Act as it now applies to our industry. If you have any questions, please call 303-498-9968 or email to admin@steepslopevape.com.
