Massachusetts and Rhode Island Vaping Ban News
In case you missed the news, in response to the sudden illnesses and deaths some vape users were experiencing across the United States, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker issued a total ban on vaping products and Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo issued an executive order banning the sale of flavored vaping products. Governor Raimondo specifically spoke of these companies marketing flavored vaping products directly to children and teen users.
Businesses that sell vaping products protested the ban and recently a Massachusetts judge ruled that Governor Baker and Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel may have overstepped their authority in ordering a four-month ban. The Governor is appealing that decision.
In Rhode Island, Governor Raimondo, the head of the state’s health department, and the department itself are being sued over the ban on flavored e-cigarettes. Businesses fear that the ban will “destroy Rhode Island’s $54 million nicotine-vapor-products industry and the 460 small-business owners and workers it employs.”
The medical community has urged that all vaping product users stop immediately. Because these products are rather new, no one is quite sure what other problems could come to light. Both state bans will be in place until at least January and we will be following to see what happens once the four months pass and more information from the health care professionals becomes available.
