Those signs are expected to be available for download on the state Department of Public Health’s website Wednesday, officials said, adding the stores may need to take other steps before selling vapes. Once the council’s vote is officially filed with the secretary of state’s office, Governor Charlie Baker’s emergency ban on vape sales would be rescinded, paving the way for unflavored nicotine vape sales to begin later Wednesday, officials said.
Some stores already started selling unflavored nicotine vape products Wednesday morning, saying they learned the ban was lifting that day and the state never told them anything else.
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Behram Agha, owner of Vapor Zone in Saugus and Danvers, said he had already sold two nicotine vapes. He said the ban forced him to lay off nine of his 11 employees and permanently close two stores in Ipswich and Norton.
“The customer came in and the first words were: ‘I don’t want to drive to New Hampshire,’ ” Agha said. “I said, ‘I’m glad you don’t have to deal with this burden anymore. We are open and welcome back.’ . . . Every penny will provide some relief for us.”
The sales of marijuana and nicotine vape sales have been prohibited since Sept. 24, when Baker issued his emergency ban to press “pause” while authorities investigated an outbreak of vaping-related lung injuries.
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So far, 90 Massachusetts residents have gotten sick, and three have died. Nationwide, 2,291 people have been hospitalized and 48 have died. Symptoms include severe breathing problems, chest pain, cough, and chest scans showing possible evidence of lung damage.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced in November that a main culprit was believed to be vitamin E acetate, a honey-like additive largely used in marijuana oil vaping products sold on the illicit market. The CDC warned there may be multiple causes, and the investigation continues.
Baker has said the Cannabis Control Commission, not his administration, will decide how to handle marijuana vapes after the emergency ban lifts. The commission last month ordered all cannabis oil vaping products quarantined while it worked to ensure that its licensed labs could adequately test for vitamin E acetate and other potential toxins.
A commission spokeswoman said Tuesday the quarantine “will remain in place until validated tests confirm regulated products do not contain substances of concern that may be causing these illnesses.”
Baker decided to end his emergency ban early after the Legislature passed a law last month restricting the sale of flavored and high-potency nicotine vaping products. The law was aimed at curbing an alarming rise in youth vaping. In Massachusetts, 32 percent of high school students reported vaping, one of the highest rates in the nation, health officials said.
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The new law, An Act Modernizing Tobacco Control, bans all flavored nicotine vaping product sales from stores and allows them to be sold only for on-site consumption at licensed smoking bars. The law also restricts the sale of vaping products with high levels of nicotine — more than 35 milligrams per milliliter — to licensed adult-only tobacco stores and smoking bars. Unflavored vaping products with less nicotine content will still be sold in convenience stores and gas stations.
Starting June 1, sales of menthol cigarettes and flavored chewing tobacco also will be restricted to on-site consumption at smoking bars. That is also when a new 75 percent excise tax on nicotine vaping products will begin.
The law does not include penalties for personal possession or use of flavored nicotine or tobacco products but does carry fines for those caught selling tobacco or nicotine products without a license.
The emergency ban had wide-ranging effects. The state estimated the ban cost vaping businesses millions of dollars. Several retailers and distributors reported layoffs and closings. Meanwhile, sales boomed at vape stores along the border in New Hampshire and cannabis dispensaries in Maine, which accepts Massachusetts medical marijuana cards.
Cannabis advocates warned the ban pushed people toward dangerous products on the illicit market.
The state touted an 18 percent rise in Massachusetts residents requesting the state’s free nicotine patches, gum, and other help to quit.
The state’s rapid decline in sales of traditional cigarettes slowed for a period, going from a nearly 10 percent year-over-year decrease during the month before the ban to a 4 percent dip the month after it took effect, according to the investment bank Piper Jaffray, which tracks the sector. The Baker administration said that in November, the ban’s second month, cigarette sales fell by nearly 20 percent. Sales fluctuate monthly, and it’s not always clear why.
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Public health advocates have long been divided over e-cigarettes, which are largely believed to be less harmful than combustible cigarettes but still pose significant health dangers, are highly addictive, and have hooked many nonsmoking teenagers.
Naomi Martin can be reached at naomi.martin@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @NaomiMartin. Dan Adams can be reached at daniel.adams@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @Dan_Adams86.
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Mass. health panel moves to lift ban on nicotine vape sales, passes new restrictions - The Boston Globe
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