When Gov. Charlie Baker signs the tobacco bill Wednesday morning to ban the sale of flavored tobacco and vaping products and add a new tax on e-cigarettes, he will also announce that his ban on all vaping products will be lifted sooner than expected.
In the release announcing the governor's plan to sign the bill at 10 a.m. in the State House Library, his office said that Baker will also take the opportunity to announce "that the administration plans to keep the temporary ban on all vaping products in place until December 11th, while the Department of Public Health promulgates new regulations on vaping."
Baker ordered the ban on Sept. 24 amid a national outbreak of vaping-related lung illnesses. He said a four-month pause on all vape product sales would help public health officials gather more definitive information about the cause of those illnesses and deaths.
The ban was soon shortened to three months, and had been set to expire on Dec. 24. The Supreme Judicial Court is scheduled to hear arguments in a legal challenge brought by the Vapor Technology Association against the administration's ban on Dec. 9.
Baker will be joined at Wednesday morning's signing by Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders and Department of Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel, among others.
