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Tobacco prohibited in international mailings

Tobacco

The Postal Service reminds employees that cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products are prohibited in both inbound and outbound international mail.

The prohibition overrides any statements about tobacco products in the International Mail Manual’s individual country listings. In addition, exceptions for mailing cigarettes and smokeless tobacco described in Publication 52, Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail, apply only to domestic and Army Post Office (APO) or Fleet Post Office (FPO) mailings, not to international mail.

In general, employees should:

  • Refuse a mailing if no exception applies and the employee knows or has reasonable cause to believe that an international package contains cigarettes or any form of smokeless tobacco.
  • Treat as “undeliverable as addressed” any mail found to contain cigarettes or smokeless tobacco (for instance, if the packages bursts open), and no exception applies.
  • Notify a local Postal Inspector or call the Postal Inspection Service at 877-876-2455 (press 5) if there is information that a customer is mailing large quantities of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco, and no exception applies.

Refer to the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act Implementation instructions for more information on tobacco restrictions.

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