Vaping Health Crisis: Massachusetts Declares Health Emergency, Bans E-Cigarettes Temporarily

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on Tuesday declared a public health emergency and banned the sale of all e-cigarette products in his state. This is believed to be a growing move against vaping products in response to the ongoing public health crisis and applies to both tobacco and marijuana-based products.

As reported by the Boston Globe, the ban went into effect immediately and will last until Jan. 25, 2020. Baker has assured the public that this wide-reaching ban is meant to be a pause as the medical community attempts to discover what exactly is causing the recent rash of vaping-related severe lung disease cases. To date, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has confirmed 530 cases of lung injury linked to vaping in 38 states and one U.S. territory, and seven deaths in six states. As of Monday, Massachusetts had had 61 possible cases, up from 38 only a week prior. Baker said that five of these cases had been reported to the CDC, three of which are confirmed to have been caused by vaping.

“One of the experts said that, ‘We don’t have time to wait. People are getting sick and the time to act is now.’ I couldn’t agree more,” Baker said at a news conference. “E-cigarette usage is exploding and it’s clear there’s a very real danger to the population. This temporary ban will allow state government and medical providers the time they need to understand the dangers and respond accordingly.”

To this point, state and city governments – including New York, Michigan, and San Francisco – have only moved to ban flavored vaping products, which are believed to attract children and teens to the habit. President Trump has also recently called for a nationwide ban on flavored e-cigarette liquids.