Second Lawsuit Filed Against Baker Administration's Four-Month Ban On Vaping Product Sales

Another federal lawsuit has been filed challenging the four-month ban on the sale of vaping products in Massachusetts.

On Tuesday, two days after a trio of vape shop owners sued Gov. Charlie Baker and Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel over the emergency ban, the Vapor Technology Association and some of their member retailers filed their own suit in U.S. District Court.

The Vapor Technology Association's 20-page complaint — which also includes as plaintiffs Ian Devine of Devine Enterprise, Christopher Austin of Rising Sun Vapors and Ohmerica, and Adam Webster of The Steam Co. — argues that the governor's ban "has shuttered and will irreparably destroy Massachusetts's $331 million nicotine-vapor-products industry, and the livelihoods of the 2,500 workers that it employs."

Responding to a mysterious national outbreak of vaping-related lung illnesses, Baker on Sept. 24 declared a public health emergency and Bharel signed an order banning in-store and online sales of vaping products in Massachusetts through Jan. 25, 2020