Effective July 4, 2019, the Postal Service™ is revising the Individual Country Listing (ICL) for Canada in Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®) to note changes in Canada’s regulations regarding vaping products. Additionally, we are revising the prohibition for firearms to reference the applicable sections of Publication 52, Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail.
These revisions are based on a formal notice made through the Canada Border Services Agency via Customs Notice 18-05, dated May 24, 2018, and revised November 28, 2018.
We are also making a correction to a cross-reference in Canada’s ICL, as noted in this article.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM)
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Individual Country Listings
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Canada
Country Conditions for Mailing
Prohibitions
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[In the entry beginning with “Firearms,” revise the text to read as follows (replacing the DMM reference with a reference to Publication 52):]
Firearms, except as follows: Firearms may be mailed to Canada if the importer has the required documentation and if the firearms meet the requirements in Publication 52, subchapter 43 and part 632. Before mailing, customers must visit cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/iefw-iefa-eng.html to review Canadian import requirements.
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[Add an entry in alphabetical order to read as follows:]
Vaping liquids containing 66 mg/g or more nicotine by weight. Note: The U.S. Postal Service measures the concentration of nicotine solutions by volume rather than by weight, so it is possible that a product that does not exceed Canada’s weight restriction would exceed the Postal Service’s volume restriction. Nicotine solutions with a concentration of 16.67 percent (166 mg/ml) or more, when nicotine is the only toxic material in the liquid, are classified as “dangerous goods” (see 136.1) and as such are prohibited in international mail. (See also Observation 1.)
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Observations
[Revise item 1 to read as follows:]
1. As noted in the Prohibitions section, Canada prohibits certain vaping products. However, vaping products, otherwise known as electronic smoking products (i.e., electronic products for the vaporization and administration of inhaled doses of nicotine including electronic cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos, and pipes, as well as cartridges of nicotine solutions and related products), that make health claims are subject to the Canadian Food and Drugs Act (FDA). “Health claims” refers to any statement that represents the product as a drug or device under section 2 of the FDA — for example, a statement that the product will help someone quit smoking. Vaping products that make health claims require authorization under the FDA before being commercially imported, advertised, or sold in Canada. A vaping product that makes health claims is considered a prescription drug, and before importation to Canada, it requires a Drug Establishment License and an assigned corresponding Drug Identification Number (DIN). For more information, visit canada.ca/en/health-canada/topics/licensing-authorizing-manufacturing-drug-health-products.html. Vaping products with no health claims and no drugs other than nicotine are not subject to the FDA.
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Priority Mail International (230) Price Group 1
[Revise the last line of the table to read as follows (changing the cross-reference from Observation 4 to Observation 5, to reflect a previous change to the Observations section):]
See Observation 5.
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Although effective July 4, 2019, the Postal Service will incorporate these revisions into the next update of the online IMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification, Marketing, 7-4-19
