Federal judge denies restraining order, allows Massachusetts vapor flavor ban

A federal judge denied a vapor industry attempt to put on hold Massachusetts’ four-month ban on the sale of vaping products, keeping intact the nation’s strictest prohibition.

“The court finds that plaintiffs have not demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success on the merits or that the balance of hardships between the parties weighs in (their) favor,” according to the decision.

But the industry may still get relief. The judge scheduled an Oct. 15 hearing for arguments on whether she should issue a preliminary injunction against the ban, according to a story on Reuters.com.

An attorney for vapor industry stakeholders argued that the Massachusetts ban is overly broad and suggested it should instead target “black market products sold by drug dealers.”

The FDA stated that the majority of samples tested by the states or by the FDA “related to this investigation have been identified as vaping products containing THC. Through this investigation, we have also found most of the patients impacted by these illnesses reported using THC-containing products, suggesting THC vaping products play a role in the outbreak.”

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s ban targets sales of e-cigarettes and vaping supplies, both those used for nicotine and THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, which is legal in the state, in response to the nationwide outbreak in the sometimes deadly lung disease linked to vaping, according to the story