UK’s Vapemail Ban
As the United States gears up for a vapemail ban by the postal service and a number of courier companies, is the UK about to experience the same by stealth as one company now lists products in its prohibited list?
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by Dave Cross
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The 2021 Omnibus Appropriations Bill(1) banned USPS shipments of vape products, coming into effect this week. The American Vaping Association called the wording of the bill “sloppy” and advised businesses to look to other providers – but the options have narrowed by the week(2).
John Dunne, Director General at the UK Vaping Industry Association(3), told Planet of the Vapes that the supply chain is a global one, and “in the EU too, we are hearing of vaping businesses being turned away from major carriers. The potential impact on public health is grave, as so many people are relying on shipped goods as a lifeline during the pandemic.”
Recently, we relayed how British businesses were experiencing problems(4) shipping within the United Kingdom and Europe.
A number of vapers have been complaining over the last weekend of packages being opened, returned, or refused to be accepted for shipping by DHL. Planet of the Vapes looked at the conditions of service and contacted DHL UK.
What you can’t send with DHL
DHL says: “Please note that the prohibited items listed below apply to parcels being sent from and within the United Kingdom. For international carriage there may be additional prohibited items specified by the country of destination.”
“The following items will NOT be accepted for carriage by DHL. Shipment of any prohibited item(s) shall be considered a material breach of our Terms and Conditions of Carriage and DHL shall hold no liability for any prohibited item(s), which are subsequently damaged or lost whilst in our control. You shall remain fully liable to DHL for any losses caused to DHL as a consequence of your shipping of a Prohibited Item in accordance with our Terms and Conditions of Carriage.”
And, listed under “Alcohol, cigarettes and narcotics” is:
- Electronic cigarettes and pipes, e-hookahs, e-cigars and vape pens
including any device that, through an aerosolised solution, delivers nicotine, flavour, or any other inhalable substance(5)
We sought clarification from DHL and asked them if vape products are now banned for shipments within the UK and what the justification was for this.
We informed DHL that the UK government fully supports vaping as a safer alternative to smoking, and that the evidence from Public health England(6), the Royal College of GPs and Cancer Research UK(7), and the NHS(8) is overwhelming.
DHL refused to provide an official statement, but someone who wished to remain non-attributable confirmed that the ban applies to all UK consumers trying to send vape related products on an ad-hoc basis. At this moment in time, it appears business account holders will remain unaffected.
While the number of vapers who might wish to use a service like this remains small, the fact that a ban is in place is out of step with the United Kingdom’s forward thinking on tobacco harm reduction.
Have you experienced problems with any other courier company? Let us know.
References:
- FY 2021 Omnibus Appropriations Bill - https://www.ncsl.org/ncsl-in-dc/publications-and-resources/fy-2021-omnibus-appropriations-bill.aspx
- UPS To Block Vape Deliveries - https://www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/news/vaping-news/2021-02-02_ups-to-block-vape-deliveries.html
- UK Vaping Industry Association - www.ukvia.co.uk
- Vaping Industry condemns US ‘Vape Mail’ ban - https://www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/news/vaping-news/2021-03-09_vaping-industry-condemns-us-vape-mail-ban.html
- What you can and can’t send - https://parcel.dhl.co.uk/what-you-can-and-cant-send/
- Public health England update - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vaping-in-england-evidence-update-february-2021
- RCGP and CRUK joint position statement - https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/awareness-and-prevention/e-cigarette-hub-information-for-health-professionals/e-cigarette-statement
- NHS quit advice - https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/quit-smoking/using-e-cigarettes-to-stop-smoking/
Photo Credit:
Image based on work by mohamed Hassan on Pixabay
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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