Citing health concerns, Gov. Inslee has ordered changes to how agencies will regulate a variety of vaping products. In 2015, Washington was the first state to regulate e-cigarettes and vapor products.
Inslee’s executive order directs the state Board of Health to:
- Adopt emergency rules to ban all flavored vapor products
- Immediately ban any ingredients found to cause acute lung disease
- Work on legislation in 2020 to ban all flavored vapor products and disclose the ingredients in the products
- Increase regulatory oversight, limit bulk sales and expand the educational campaign.
Inslee’s order likely will be debated during the 2020 Legislative Session beginning in January. Washington has about 4,000 e-cigarette retailers and 500 licensed cannabis businesses, according to the state Liquor and Cannabis Board. Some said Inslee’s order threatened to put them out of business.
As of last weekend, vaping related illnesses had sickened about 800 people with lung diseases and killed at least 13 nationally. The source of the problem had not been identified. No related deaths had been reported in Washington State as of last weekend.
