On March 31, 2010, the PACT (Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking) Act was signed into law by Congress. This means that, effective June 29, 2010, cigarettes, including roll-your-own tobacco and smokeless tobacco are “nonmailable” matter and cannot be shipped using the U.S. Postal Service® or by common carriers such as UPS and FedEx, unless your company has a standing injunction against this law or the shipment falls within certain exceptions.
Some exceptions to this law include:
- Shipment of cigars is not prohibited under this Act
- Shipment entirely within Alaska or Hawaii
- Shipments transmitted between verified and authorized tobacco industry businesses for business purposes, or between such businesses and federal or state agencies for regulatory purposes
- Infrequent, lightweight shipments mailed by age-verified adult individuals
- Shipments of cigarettes sent by verified and authorized manufacturers to verified adult smokers age 21 and over for consumer testing purposes, and shipments sent by federal agencies for public health purposes.
All shipments of cigarettes that qualify for one of these exceptions must include a unique mark for its particular exception on the address side of the package. Additional requirements may apply.
Additional information about the PACT Act has been summarized in the Postal Bulletin. If you believe that your shipments could be affected by this ruling, we urge you to contact your U.S. Postal Service representative who can better help you to understand how this law applies to your business. Sincerely,
The DYMO Endicia Team
800-576-3279 ext. 140
