Mayor Walsh Supports Temporary Ban On Vaping Products, Will Enforce In Boston
BOSTON (CBS) - Mayor Marty Walsh supports Governor Charlie Baker's 4-month ban on vaping product sales in Massachusetts and he says it will be enforced in Boston.
The ban, which was approved by the Public Health Council, went effect immediately after Baker's announcement Tuesday afternoon. It will last through Jan. 25, 2020. Local law enforcement will be in charge of enforcing the ban.
"I know we're going to enforce his ban in Boston. We're going to be going around making sure that the products aren't being sold. I can understand the concerns of some of the shops that are out there, but this is a public health crisis," Walsh told reporters Wednesday. "Maybe if somebody did this back when cigarettes started to go into stores we could have saved a lot of lives."
Related: Vape Stores Fear Ban Will Put Them Out Of Business
Many vape shop owners said they were caught off guard by the ban, which also includes online sales and vaping products for recreational and medical marijuana.
Juul labs now has an alert on their website saying they cannot ship to Massachusetts. In a statement, the company said Wednesday that "removing e-cigarettes from the market will create a thriving black market of counterfeit and compatible products, made with unknown ingredients under unknown manufacturing standards."
There have been more than 530 vaping-related breathing illnesses in the U.S. with 61 of them in Massachusetts this year.
