Governor Charlie Baker Declares Vaping a Public Health Emergency

By: Luis Mercado 

Courtesy of Creative Commons.

09/24/19

Governor Charlie Baker has declared a public health emergency in Massachusetts, resulting in a four month ban of all vaping product sales. 

The ban, which applies to all online and retail sales of vaping products, will remain in effect until Jan. 25, 2020.

“The purpose of the public health emergency is to temporarily pause all sales of vaping products so that we can work with our medical experts to identify what is making people sick and how to better regulate these products to protect the health of our residents,” Baker said. 

As of Tuesday, the Department of Public Health said that more than 61 unexplained vaping-associated pulmonary disease cases have been reported. 

Three cases in the state of Massachusetts have been confirmed to be linked to vaping. Throughout the country, there have been hundreds of similar cases. 

Earlier this month, Department of Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel ordered that vaping related pulmonary cases must be reported to the state for at least one year.  

This information will help the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention understand the scale of the situation, according to Bharel. 

Following the ban, the American Vaping Association called Baker’s decision “illegal” and “absolutely absurd.” 

“In the four months this ban will be in effect, approximately 150,000 people across the United States will die from smoking cigarettes,” said Association President George Conley. “We look forward to supporting lawsuits against Gov. Baker illegal and unconstitutional ban.”     

Two other states have taken similar action against vaping. Michigan Gov. Grecthen Whitmer said that her state would move toward a ban, accusing e-cigarette companies of targeting their product to children using deceptive marketing tactics.  

Recently, New York became the first state to ban the sale of most vaping related products.

The American Lung Association says that it supports the move, and is calling for action from federal agencies.