[Story Developing] Opponents of the Baker administration's temporary ban on all vaping products packed a room Friday to slam the emergency regulation in the only public hearing scheduled on its impact.
Speakers ranged from a Boston University researcher to dozens of vape shop owners and individual vape users, and most criticized the temporary ban set to expire Dec. 24 as a draconian step that will harm businesses or boost an illicit market.
Some argued that vaping tobacco is the most effective method for people to quit using combustible cigarettes.
"If there's going to be nicotine still sold in cigarettes, I should be allowed to smoke nicotine in a vape especially if it's a healthier alternative," vape user Kyle Oliva told Department of Public Health officials at the hearing.
Gov. Charlie Baker ordered the ban in September amid a national outbreak of vaping-related lung illnesses, and the governor is hoping for more definitive information about the cause of those illnesses, and deaths
