A lawsuit by the Vapor Technology Association in Washington and one of its members brought the U.S. Department of health and the board of directors to court, asking judges to overturn the temporary ban on electronic cigarettes.
It is understood that the association is an organization representing the owners of e-cigarette stores, who claim that the prohibition process in Washington state has developed too fast, and have not considered and proved that e-cigarette products are substitutes for cigarettes.
Data shows that on October 10 this year, Washington state’s temporary ban on all electronic cigarette products came into effect. If not overturned by a judge, the ban will last 120 days and the state has the option to renew it when it expires.
Governor Jay inslee asked the State Health Council to approve the ban in response to the growing number of serious lung diseases and deaths associated with e-cigarettes.
In Washington state, there have been 12 cases of serious lung disease associated with aerosolization. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported nearly 1300 cases of aerosol related lung injury nationwide, 26 of which died.
The owners of e-cigarette stores believe the ban has led to a sharp drop in their sales. For some stores, financial setbacks are enough to force them to close down.
Proponents of e-cigarettes want judges in Washington to follow those in Oregon and New York, which have suspended their state bans.
In Oregon, where two people died of vape related diseases, the interim ban on vape only applies to tobacco flavor based e-cig products. The ban on vaporized cannabis vapes remains in effect.
At the same time, the King County Government and a school district in Skagit county have filed lawsuits against the Juul laboratory, a large e-cigarette retailer, because of the sharp rise in the number of young people’s e-cigarettes. The lawsuit calls for a judge to rule that Juul labs is responsible for the youth e-cigarette epidemic in their county.
“We believe that store owners are willing to work with the state to solve the problem of electronic cigarettes for young people,” the association said.
