New USPS regulations.

[LowThudd]

When I was at the PO, I saw a sign informing me that there are new regulations reguarding ALL tobacco products, including smokeless tobacco. This could potentially mean our juice. Also, while I was poking around the USPS website, I noticed that battaries are also on the restricted hazardous materials list, as well as several chemicals which are potentially less hazardous than our juice, and specifically high nic mixing juice. I just thought I would start a thread so we could discuss what this potentially means to our cause.

USPS - Aviation Mail Security & Hazardous Materials

USPS - Cigarette & Smokeless Tobacco Mailings

Ouch!

 

[dirt2suck]

Both are not new to the regulations.

They say tobacco products, for trying to stop the importation of tax-free cigarettes.
E-cigs are not on the list, yet.

Hazardous chems have been there for quite a long time.
The batts, come on, there is prob a few million a day coming from china thru the air.

 

[erinprime]

Yikes... I wonder how strictly they will enforce this. Maybe nothing will change but it seems scary at first glance.

 

[LowThudd]

Both are not new to the regulations.

They say tobacco products, for trying to stop the importation of tax-free cigarettes.
E-cigs are not on the list, yet.

Hazardous chems have been there for quite a long time.
The batts, come on, there is prob a few million a day coming from china thru the air.

Very true, I brought this up in the PIF forum, specifically because people were worried about juice leaking. As I have recieved leaking juice at one time, I thought it would be a good idea to discuss it. Also, we are mailing batts to one another in the PIF and classifieds and it is a potential problem in the worst case senario.

 

[v1John]

It also says for consumer testing purposes (how is that defined?) they can be delivered to people verified to be over the age of 21, but now that you mentioned it, it doesn't seem like they're tobacco products necessarily, except I don't know about nicotine. Where do they define all such smokeless tobacco products?

 

[LowThudd]

It also says for consumer testing purposes (how is that defined?) they can be delivered to people verified to be over the age of 21, but now that you mentioned it, it doesn't seem like they're tobacco products necessarily, except I don't know about nicotine. Where do they define all such smokeless tobacco products?

Not sure, but 100mg nic juice is deffenitly more hazardous than the majority of the chemicals on the examples list for AIR MAIL shipping only:

Perfumes

Nail polish

Flea collars or flea sprays

Aerosols

Bleach

Pool chemicals

Paints

Matches

Batteries

Fuels or gasoline

Airbags

Dry ice

Mercury thermometers

Cleaning supplies

Items previously containing fuel

Glues

Fireworks

I tried to look it up on the DOT hazardous materials link, but it's a dead link. I sent them a message requesting that they either fix the link or e-mail me the regs. So we will see.

More on this.

DMM 601 Mailability

Certainly, pure nic is considered a hazardous material, so I am not certain what all this means. But better safe than sorry.

 

[cdmcfud]

There go our cell phones. I don't thank any batteries are made in the USA.

 

[LowThudd]

There go our cell phones. I don't thank any batteries are made in the USA.

Your right, the regs are skewed a bit. But I think that businesses MUST have some way of dealing with it that I am not finding. It is more of a risk for us, because we have no lawyers to back us up if the inevidable mishap happens.

 

[LowThudd]

This link was put up to help avoid problems when shipping juice, but I also think it applies to batts. http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/pay-forward/105007-tips-tricks-shipping-your-pif.html

Maybe we just need to practice some common precautions to avoid problems that may draw attention to our Vapers habit of shipping nic juice all over the place. lol

 

[loxmythe]

When I ship juice I wrap the bottles in paper towels and then shrink wrap them with a small handheld stretch wrapper from Global.
Stretch Wrap | Stretch Wrap | 80 Gauge Stretch Wrap 5" x 1000' L With Extended Core Handle | 706596 - GlobalIndustrial.com

I just ordered some of these too - WalMarts are getting too expensive.
Mailers & Tubes | Mailers & Tubes | 6 x 8 (25 PK) Bubble Lined Poly Mailers. | B40097 - GlobalIndustrial.com

 

[Ru42]

Unfortunately, after some research, there is no easy answer. Here is what I have discovered:

Key USPS Page:
Appendix A


1. Dry cell batteries (your typical store bought battery) are NOT prohibited.

2. Lithium based batteries (your typical rechargable battery) are regulated according to "Only as permitted in 348.22b and 349.2" - but I couldn't find those regs on the USPS site. Lithium can be shipped if it passes those regs as a CLASS 9D hazardous material. 9D has special packaging needs, maybe someone can run that down.

3. Liquids are touchy for the USPS in general. While flavored juice does not fall neatly into any single category, we should do our do diligence and treat it properly: tightly sealed bottle, ziplocs (maybe even double zip locks) to prevent leakage. A leaking package will get unwanted attention.

More research would be needed for straight up nicotine juice. It would have to fall into one of the hazard classes but I am not sure which one.


I think in general we need to use our heads. One thing constantly mentioned about batteries was to separate them from their device. Carefully package everything (bubble or other some sort of protection). Liquid needs to be made as leak proof as possible.

Many of these regs pertain to businesses who ship mass quantities. The tobacco page listed something like less then 10 packages per 30 days makes you a casual mailer.

Just my thoughts this early AM.

 

[Jacinda222]

Well, according to their poster of hazardous materials, "Non-spillable batteries may be permitted per DMM 601." (I don't have enough posts to be able to give you the link, sorry!)

As far as tobacco products are concerned, I don't think e-juice is included there. They do have a little note at the bottom saying that cigars are okay, which I think is funny...

 

[Sandi Penn]

I hope they dont ban e juice at usps.. i dont think they will. at most there will be some sort of regulation but not total ban.

 

[7thCabal]

The majority of gear & wetware I receive is thru the air-mail... not much of any kind of warning labels on outer packaging-- I have received ORMD flavorings(no nic, about a 1/2 gallon) which had to get here by boat.

When I send stuff out I always get asked the perishable/hazmat/otherwise dangerous questions... of course my answer is always-- NO.

DON't skimp on the bubble wrap/zip lock bags/old newspapers or whatever you use to pack fragile items-- when packing/shipping liquids you should be thinking containment, if anything were to go wrong.

 

[AngeLsLuv]

Thing is that with the situation as it stand now, a person can buy pipe tobacco, cigars, and shisha delivered via the USPS from ordering online, but not ciggies.. Companies are saying on their sites that if you smoke ciggies, to change to little cigars and they can still be mailed and that they are pretty much the same (I don't know about that since I've never smoked little cigars), but that's what they are saying... So this is kinda crazy

 

[LowThudd]

Thing is that with the situation as it stand now, a person can buy pipe tobacco, cigars, and shisha delivered via the USPS from ordering online, but not ciggies.. Companies are saying on their sites that if you smoke ciggies, to change to little cigars and they can still be mailed and that they are pretty much the same (I don't know about that since I've never smoked little cigars), but that's what they are saying... So this is kinda crazy

The little cigars suck. I've had a few of them And if you want a Kretek cig, that is the only type still imported into the country. They are the same shape/size of the old cigarette Kreteks, but they just don't taste the same. We can thank the FDA for that nonsense. Stupidest carp ever. Prolly the same thing will happen w/ menthols. I have tried the menthol "little cigars" and they are HORRIBLE. The FDA is a bunch of stupid bastages.

 

[Lorizgal]

Individuals sending shipments under the "certain individuals" exception must furnish proof of age at the time of mailing and must orally confirm that the addressee is of age to purchase tobacco at the place of destination. In the case of all mailings by individuals, the operative legal age to purchase tobacco is age 18 in all states and U.S. territories and possessions, with the exception that the minimum age is 19 in the states of Alaska, Alabama, New Jersey, and Utah, and in Nassau, Onondaga, and Suffolk counties in New York.
Shipments sent under the "certain individuals" exception must be infrequent (no more than 10 shipments in any 30 day period) and weigh 10 ounces or less; however, no special weight limits apply to shipments entirely within Alaska and Hawaii.


These are the exceptions to the not shipping of ciggies and tobacco products and I think we are all under this except for the limit of 10 packages every 30 days. But if you mail packages from your own mailbox like I do, who is keeping track actually.

 

[AngeLsLuv]

The little cigars suck. I've had a few of them And if you want a Kretek cig, that is the only type still imported into the country. They are the same shape/size of the old cigarette Kreteks, but they just don't taste the same. We can thank the FDA for that nonsense. Stupidest carp ever. Prolly the same thing will happen w/ menthols. I have tried the menthol "little cigars" and they are HORRIBLE. The FDA is a bunch of stupid bastages.

You can say that again.. I loved how they essentiailly told us all to go back to smoking when we know they are in bed with both the pharmceudical and tobacco companies, plus how many drugs have they approved that families are suing over since someone in their family has either gotten very sick or died from.. All over one company with an idiot who added the wrong stuff to their juice..

 

[doots]

Yikes... I wonder how strictly they will enforce this. Maybe nothing will change but it seems scary at first glance.

We are talking the PO.. Lol

 

[Elendil]

Just yesterday I shipped a battery pack to Canada. On the customs form I clearly wrote "battery".

The clerk never gave it a second look.

Jaywalking is on the books at illegal too, and excepts for the kooks in San Diego it is rarely enforced.