Governor creates program to curb vaping

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COLUMBUS — Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced that, as a result of increasing pulmonary complications caused by vaping, he is announcing a long-term effort to curb vaping by young people and supporting a legislative push to ban flavored e-cigarette products.

“We have two separate, but related problems in connection to vaping. First, we are facing deaths and very serious medical problems caused by vaping, the second problem is the dramatic increase in youth vaping — a 135 percent increase in high school students vaping since 2017 alone,” said Governor Mike DeWine. “We must take necessary steps to protect Ohio’s young people from the cycle of addiction.” 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 12 people have died nationwide due to vaping-related severe lung disease. As of this morning, the Ohio Department of Health has identified 22 cases, including one involving a 15-year-old, and is investigating 19 additional cases.  

To protect young people from the dangers of vaping, Governor DeWine had requested his administration review Ohio law as it relates to a statewide ban on flavored e-cigarette products. The DeWine Administration determined that the best course of action is to partner with the General Assembly to work to ban flavored vaping liquid, including menthol and mint.

In addition, Governor DeWine announced that he will be sending a letter to the Food and Drug Administration asking them to take swift action to draft and adopt rules to promptly ban flavored e-cigarette products.

Building upon outreach efforts by the Ohio Department of Health to school superintendents, Governor DeWine will also send letters to all Ohio college and university presidents asking them to enhance their smoke-free campus policies, including rules on vaping.

The actions announced announced are part of a larger effort Governor DeWine and the General Assembly have taken to reduce vaping among young people. As part of the biennial budget, the sale of tobacco and vaping products to anyone under 21 is banned beginning October 17, 90 days after the budget was signed into law. As a result of teen smoking, three out of four teen smokers continue to smoke into adulthood. The 18-to-21 age range is the time when many smokers transition to regular, daily smoking.

Today, a tax on vaping products included in the biennial budget went into effect.  This tax charges distributors 10 cents per milliliter of vaping products. Raising the price of cigarettes has been one of the most effective ways to reduce smoking rates.

On Friday, the CDC issued an updated alert on the “Outbreak of Lung Injury Associated with E-Cigarette Use, or Vaping,” as part of its ongoing investigations in severe lung illnesses and deaths related to vaping. Specifically, the alert states that “While this investigation is ongoing, the CDC recommends that you consider refraining from using e-cigarette, or vaping, products, particularly those containing THC.”

As a result, the administration took the following actions:

• The Ohio Department of Health updates its directive, now requiring, rather than suggesting, that vaping-related illnesses be reported to them.
• The Ohio Department of Commerce issued an alert to its medical marijuana licensees to make them aware of the CDC message and to let them know that the Medical Marijuana Control Program protocols might be amended, including a ban on ingredients or products found to be unsafe. The department suggested that licensees consider producing alternative products that don’t involve vaping.
• The Ohio Board of Pharmacy just sent an alert to all medical marijuana patients about the CDC message. The board announced that it received 30 reports of adverse events regarding medical marijuana, including six related to vaping products.