Ban on Mailing of E-Cigarettes a "Strong Step Forward in Reducing the Youth Vaping Epidemic"
LOUISVILLE, Ky, December 30, 2020 - The omnibus federal budget bill (see pp. 5136-5139) signed into law on Dec. 27, 2020, includes language that prohibits interstate mailing of electronic cigarettes via the U.S. Postal Service. The bill also adds e-cigarettes to the list of tobacco products that must comply with the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act, which requires shippers to, among other things, pay state excise taxes, label their shipments as containing tobacco products, and require the signature of a recipient who is 21 years of age or older. The law gives the U.S. Postal Service 120 days to write regulations implementing the requirements. Following is a statement from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky about this language:
"More than nine in 10 times that minors try to buy e-cigarettes online, they are successful," said Ben Chandler, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. "This provision will cut off an important avenue that e-cigarette companies have been using to get their dangerous tobacco products to kids. The bill also helps raise the price of e-cigarettes by ensuring that sellers pay the new Kentucky e-cigarette excise tax we supported this year. So, by reducing youth access to vapes and making them more expensive, the bill is another strong step forward in reducing the youth vaping epidemic in Kentucky and across our nation."
Photo: Ben Chandler (above) testifies alongside Rep. Jerry T. Miller, author of HB32, the e-cigarette tax bill, on Feb. 11, 2020 in the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee.
About the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky
Funded by an endowment, the mission of the nonpartisan Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky is to address the unmet health needs of Kentuckians by developing and influencing policy, improving access to care, reducing health risks and disparities, and promoting health equity. Since the Foundation opened its doors in 2001, it has invested more than $29 million in health policy research, advocacy, and demonstration project grants across the Commonwealth. Visit healthy-ky.org.
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