Ban on sale of flavored vaping products goes into effect

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) – The ban on flavored vaping products in Rhode Island is now in effect after the Department of Health issued official regulations Friday afternoon.

These regulations come in response to Governor Gina Raimondo’s executive order last week banning all flavored vaping products in Rhode Island.

“I’m deeply concerned about the rapid increase and effects of e-cigarette use among youth. That’s why in Rhode Island we’re taking action to ensure that companies can no longer market these products with colorful packaging and candy-based flavors,” Raimondo said. “This is a public health crisis, and the regulations announced today will help to protect our kids’ health.”

The regulation banning the manufacture, distribution, sale, or offer for sale of, flavored electronic nicotine-delivery system (ENDS) products takes effect immediately, RIDOH said.

“We are strongly encouraging that people stop using vaping products and the flavored product ban is the way to be able to do that,” said Director of Health, Nicole Alexander-Scott.

The department said they will starting working with and inspecting vape shops as early as next week in partnership with law enforcement and local officials.

The ban comes one day after the first two vaping-related illnesses were reported in the state, and even with hundreds of cases and multiple death around the country, doctors are still trying to figure out what’s happening.

Dr. Barry Shea, Director of the Interstitial Lung Disease Center at Rhode Island Hospital, said that what the medical community knows right now is that the illness causes inflammation in the lungs, it can kill you, and vaping seems to be the prime suspect.

“On a cat scan or an x-ray, the lungs should look black. That’s because they’re full of air. And what we’ve seen on some of the cat scans of some these patients is we just see this massive accumulation of this white stuff in their lungs. This inflammation in some cases probably scarring,” Shea said. “I think it’s an illness we’re just realizing even exists.”

The problem for doctors is they can’t find the common cause linked between all of the illnesses.

“What we don’t know is what it is in these electronic cigarettes that’s causing the injury. There’s been no single substance or no single product which has been linked to all of the cases of lung injury so far.” Shea said. “These are heated liquids that people are breathing into their lungs it’s not surprising that it’s causing injury.”

As for vape shop owners, some are taking the new regulations seriously.

Owners of The Juice Box in North Smithfield cleared their shelves as soon as they heard about the announcement from the Department of Health.

“I have nothing,” said Owner Donna Killeen. “My shelves are completely empty now.”

Many are in despair because they estimate that flavored products amount to 99 percent of their business.

“Now I’m sitting on tens of thousands of dollars of juice I just have to dump out and throw away,” explained Killeen.

The U.S. FDA commissioner tweeted a warning to the public Friday not to vape products containing THC.

Vape shop owners say black market THC cartridges are the culprits in all of this.

“We do know that there’s an illness outbreak for THC cartridges containing oil,” said Owner of White Horse Vapor Dino Baccari. “But there’s no ban in place for them.”

Baccari says many are planning to protest the ban next week. Both owners agreed a good alternative to a flavor ban would be to raise the vaping age to 21.

RIDOH’s emergency vaping regulations that are now put in place can be read below:

Here is the letter that RIDOH sent to all licensed ENDS retailers:

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