E Cig through US Customs

[7slicetoastie]

I have been looking for relevant posts regards e-cig's through US customs whilst travelling and don't seem to have found any as my concern is very specific.

I have a business trip coming up in March, am getting together with a few other directors in New York and am worried about bringing in this device on my person through US security at the airport.

I haven't been to the states since prior to 911 so don't know how strict it is, I only have one example which has put the frightenners on me !

A close friend of mine is the Director of Operations for HSBC based in Dubai, and whilst visiting me in the UK I got him an e cig which he loved. now on a recent business trip to Chicago, he was pulled out of line and interogated for 2 hours about his intentions in the US, and having the e-cig in his luggage did not help matters !!! Even though they checked all his credentials with HSBC.

I understand the reasoning behind this, and looking at where he was flying from and the fact that he is Asian ( UK meaning of Asian ) I can even understand why this happenned. Eventually he was released and went on to the meeting WITHOUT the e-cig.

Now I don't want to come to the states with my beloved e-cig only to lose it and have to use analogues until my return to the UK where I will have to buy the whole starter set again.

Any ideas ????

 

[TropicalBob]

These look like something that could easily be converted to fire a single bullet or spray a cabin with nerve gas. So inspectors sometimes get excited when a metal tube comes through with a push button manual switch on it, a microchip inside and unknown liquid in a cartridge.

I'd check baggage with it inside. Lots of people report having flown with their e-cig, but it's a gamble. Get gum. Wear a patch. Do whatever is legal to get past cravings en route. Then reclaim your beloved e-cig when you retrieve your baggage -- unless, of course, your luggage was misdirected to Mexico City.

But it's your call. Might make it. Might get it confiscated. The U.S. is very touchy in light of terrorism threats.

 

[Kate]

Yep, those pesky terrorists have all authorities on tenterhooks.

There is talk on this thread about air travel to and from the US -

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/e-cigarette-public/728-e-smoking-airplane.html

BettyRedondo works as cabin crew and makes the trip regularly if I remember correctly. I think she suggests taking the minimum with you and put the rest in baggage.

Maybe carry a cheap device that isn't your pride and joy if you have a choice in case it gets confiscated.

 

[Mr.Darcy]

ive been wondering what to do if i visit the states...
i always get targeted by security wherever i go for some reason...
id probably get the rubber glove treatment...

so i figure id just use crappy nic gum on the plane,and get Cash to deliver a pre-charged ecig and some liquid to whatever address i was staying at a few days before i left,use it while im there,and bin it before i leave...

this would only be worth it if youre staying for a week or two tho...depending on how desperate you are to esmoke and avoid possible security hassle...

 

[7slicetoastie]

Thanks guys..is a very long flight though..I know that I will probrably get less hassle than my pal who flew direct from Dubai to the US with what must have looked like a detonator in his bag.

I am seriously considering sending one of my guys over in my place instead..or maybe attending by video conference as I am only there for 2 or 3 days.

They had my friend sit in a room for 1 hour facing the a huge american flag in a sealed room with an armed guard in attendance..then when they came for him a panel of 4 people sat 20ft BEHIND him asked him questions about what school he went to when he was 6 years old through a speaker system..

I don't know if I fancy that at my age..I'm liable to get really mad

 

[PeteMcArthur]

My plan is to check the e-cig in as baggage, then suffer the flight using a Nicorette Inhalator and snuff. No way would I board a flight with the Screwdriver!!

 

[smokum]

Although I can understand the customs concerns, but wouldn't it suffice to carry it on your person OR in your luggage dis-assembled and with the literature you received when you purchased it ??

I would hardly think any "reasonable" human being couldn't understand the device with the proper literature and maybe a demonstration of it. The keyword is "reasonable" obviously and not the "disgruntled power hungry authority mongers that failed the police academy".

It goes without saying that this would abviously apply to passengers who are not already on the "watch" list nor the jittery, shifty-eyed, or non personallity types.

Just my 2 cents though, as I've yet to cross boarder with mine as of yet.

-Greg

 

[spyderuk]

I think in your checked baggage would be the best option and as others have posted, wear a patch or take the gum. If you try and take it on board it may be confiscated then you wouldn't have it at the other side.

That's the way I would go with on any flight.

 

[Jammi98]

Ha smokum, I've read quite a few reports of American citizens having their laptops or cellphones confiscated on entry for no apparent reason when returning from abroad. We are not dealing with "reasonable" people here.

 

[Dale]

ive been wondering what to do if i visit the states...
i always get targeted by security wherever i go for some reason...
id probably get the rubber glove treatment...

so i figure id just use crappy nic gum on the plane,and get Cash to deliver a pre-charged ecig and some liquid to whatever address i was staying at a few days before i left,use it while im there,and bin it before i leave...

this would only be worth it if youre staying for a week or two tho...depending on how desperate you are to esmoke and avoid possible security hassle...

This was my first thought as well. Doesn't get you through the flight but it certainly has you taken care of while you are here.

 

[parapo]

...
...
I would hardly think any "reasonable" human being couldn't understand the device with the proper literature and maybe a demonstration of it. The keyword is "reasonable" obviously and not the "disgruntled power hungry authority mongers that failed the police academy".
...
...
-Greg

i flew from the cologne/bonn airport (germany) to athens (greece) last saturday,and i had a 901 it in my jacket.

before i entered the metal scanner i put it and everything else on me in a basked they had.

on the other side of the scanner i picked everything up,
and i saw 2 of the custom officers smiling funny commenting the e-cig.

it seems they have heard of it but never saw one,
so i gave them the "grand tour".

the funny thing was,i was almost sure they would already know these things. apparently not. which makes me thing we are way less than we think we are.

 

[yvilla]

My penstyle traveled with me to and from Venezuela last year (end Jan/early April). No issues either direction. I never put anything I care about in checked luggage, so it was on my person. Liquid in the qt. baggie.