PACT Act

The Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (“PACT”) Act (Originally passed in 2009) amended the existing Jenkins Act of 1949, which required interstate shippers to report cigarette sales to state tobacco tax administrators in order to combat illicit sales and tax avoidance. When it became law 60 years later – the same year the Tobacco Control Act gave FDA authority over tobacco products – the PACT Act, among other things, prohibited the use of the U.S. Postal Service (“USPS”) to deliver cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products directly to consumers.

• In addition to the non-mailing provisions, the PACT Act requires anyone who sells cigarettes or smokeless tobacco to register with the ATF and the tobacco tax administrators of the states into which a shipment is made or in which an advertisement or offer is disseminated.

• Delivery sellers who ship cigarettes or smokeless tobacco to consumers are further required to label packages as containing tobacco, verify the age and identity of the customer at purchase, use a delivery method (other than USPS) that checks ID and obtains adult customer signature at delivery, and maintain records of delivery sales for a period of four years after the date of sale, among other things.

• The PACT Act also requires sellers to file a monthly report with the state tobacco tax administrator and any other local or tribal entity that taxes the sale of cigarettes. Such reports must include the name and address of the persons delivering and receiving the shipment and the brand and quantity of the “cigarettes” that were shipped. These requirements apply to all sales of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, including sales to consumers and sales between businesses

• The PACT Act mandates that the ATF maintain a non-compliant list of persons who fail to comply with the Act. Placement on the list bars common carriers and other persons from delivering products sold by the listed company. ATF distributes the list to common carriers, USPS, credit card companies, and others to help enforce the list.

• The 2020 PACT Act amendment, the “Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act,” modifies the original definition of “cigarette” in the PACT Act to include Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS). The term “ENDS” is defined very broadly to essentially include all vaping products, liquids, components, and accessories, whether they contain nicotine or not. Specifically, an ENDS product is defined as “any electronic device that, through an aerosolized solution, delivers nicotine, flavor, or any other substance to the user inhaling from the device,” including “an e-cigarette; an e-hookah; an e-cigar; a vape pen; an advanced refillable personal vaporizer; an electronic pipe; and any component, liquid, part, or accessory of a device described [above], without regard to whether the component, liquid, part, or accessory is sold separately from the device.” (Emphasis added.) Based on this definition of ENDS, zero-nicotine e-liquids, synthetic “tobacco-free” nicotine e-cigarettes, and CBD/THC/hemp vape pens, among other things, would all appear to be captured.

As noted, the amended PACT Act now prohibits the use of the USPS to deliver “ENDS” directly to consumers. The mail ban went into effect on March 26, 2021. Federal Express and United Parcel Service (UPS), have also ceased all deliveries of vapor products.