On Thursday, October 17, 2019, residents of Oregon celebrated as the Court of Appeals issued a temporary block against the state's ban on flavored vape products, which had begun just 2 days earlier on Tuesday, October 15th.
The block was issued in response to a lawsuit filed by a coalition of vape businesses and anti-smoking advocacy groups against the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), Governor Kate Brown, and Patrick Allen, the Director of the OHA.
In the official court order (listed below), Appellate Commissioner Theresa Kidd writes, "Petitioners have further requested that the court grant an immediate temporary stay, before respondents will have had the opportunity to file a response to the motion for stay, because petitioners assert, as a result of the rule, they, along with numerous other similarly situated business will be forced to permanent close within weeks."
While the block is only temporary, this was nothing short of a major victory for the vape industry. While it seems that there are legislators who are just in their duties, this victory would have never happened without the tremendous efforts of the vape coalition leading the fight against the vape ban in Oregon, and the countless others throughout the country (members of the coalition involved in the Oregon Court case are listed below if you'd like to show them your support).
Even though our opponents may have more influence, more power, and far deeper pockets than us, the vape industry will prevail, and this event proves it. But, just like the group who are fighting off the vape ban in Oregon, we need to unify and fight back to defend our right to vape.
Let's keep the momentum going and show our enemies that we're not backing down.
Take Action and Join the Fight to #StopVapeBans
This industry is facing one of its biggest challenges and it needs the support of vapers everywhere. Check out the resources below to learn how you can get involved and show your support to the members of the Vape Coalition involved in the Oregon Vape Ban Block (listed below):
Oregon Anti Vape Ban Coalition
- Vapor Technology Association (VTA)
- Vape Crusaders
- Smokeless Solutions
- Divison Vapor
- Paul Bates