The U.S. Postal Service is delaying a ban on sending vape products in the mail, saying the agency needs more time to review how to implement the changes ordered by Congress.
The ban was supposed to take effect Monday and apply to all vape companies, even those shipping legal hemp-derived products.
The ban was adopted late last year to reduce access to vape products and could eliminate direct-to-consumer vape shipping.
But a Postal Service spokesman told Hemp Industry Daily Monday that USPS isn’t yet ready to implement the final rule.
“Despite our best efforts, in order to ensure thorough and thoughtful consideration of the complex issues and voluminous comments by industry, individual, and governmental stakeholders, the Postal Service is unable to publish a final rule by today’s target date,” spokesman David P. Coleman said in an email.
Coleman said the USPS would finalize the rule “as soon as possible.”
“Mailers should be prepared for implementation upon publication anytime,” he said.
Just last week the Postal Service reminded businesses making vape components to be ready for new prohibitions on mailing their products.
Several hemp and marijuana vape operators have said the change will severely harm their businesses.
FedEx and UPS already have said they will follow the U.S. Postal Service’s directive and won’t ship vaping products.
