Oregon begins temporary ban on flavored vaping products

(OCTOBER 12, 2019) The state of Oregon announced a temporary ban on flavored cannabis and nicotine vaping products.

According to the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary:

• Temporary means "existing or happening for only a short or limited time".
• A ban is "an official rule that people must not do or use something".
• Cannabis is "a drug that some people smoke for pleasure and that is illegal in many countries"
• Nicotine is "a poisonous chemical substance in tobacco".
• Vaping is "the use of e-cigarettes or other devices that let you breathe in nicotine or other drugs as vapor rather than smoke".

Oregon's Liquor Control Commission and the Oregon Health Authority agreed to the ban. They say the number of problems with these products has been increasing. The state has seen cases of acute respiratory illness (severe lung injuries) as well as death connected to these products.

"We're dealing with a national epidemic with a growing number of cases," says Jeff Rhodes. He is an advisor with the state governor's office. "The latest numbers are 1,299 cases and 26 deaths, two of which occurred in Oregon."

In Oregon, there have been another nine cases of acute respiratory illness.

“We have been warning Oregonians about the health effects of these products before this current outbreak of serious lung injury added more evidence of the dangers of vaping,” says Dean Sidelinger. He works for the state of Oregon. "These rules stop the sale of a potentially dangerous product."

The ban begins October 15 and lasts six months. It affects approximately 4,000 stores across the state. Tobacco-flavored items are not included in the ban.

The federal government continues to investigate the cause of deaths and illness in order to determine if there is a connection to vaping products.