October 18, 2019 4:40 a.m.
On Thursday afternoon the Oregon Court of Appeals granted a temporary stay on Governor Kate Brown’s ban on the sale of flavored tobacco vaping products in Oregon.
The decision put a halt to the action just two days after it went into effect.
Petitioners, led by Smokeless Solutions and Vape Crusaders in Roseburg, said that as a result of the rule enacted by the Oregon Health Authority, they, along with “numerous other similarly situated businesses, will be forced to close in weeks”.
The order granting the temporary stay was signed by Appellate Commissioner Theresa Kidd. She said the stay is “pending respondents having the opportunity to respond to motions for stay, petitioners having the opportunity to reply, and the court considering the parties filings and rendering a decision on the motions”.
The stay does not apply to marijuana vaping products which are regulated by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.
On October 4th, Governor Brown ordered the six-month ban on the sale of flavored vaping products in Oregon, in response to vaping related illnesses across the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says as of October 15th, 1,479 lung injury cases associated with e-cigarette or vaping products, have been reported from 49 states. 33 deaths have been confirmed in 24 states Oregon officials have reported 9 cases and 2 deaths.
An email sent to county health officials by the Oregon Health Authority announced the stay and asked them to “please hold all enforcement and inspection activities for the temporary flavored vaping products sales ban”.