LANSING, Mich. _ A state judge has granted a preliminary injunction to vape shop owners who opposed Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's flavored vaping ban, halting the state from enforcing emergency rules banning the sale of the products.
The decision comes nearly two weeks after the state's rules, meant to discourage youth vaping, went into effect.
Court of Claims Judge Cynthia Stephens said Tuesday that the facts of the case weigh "in favor of granting relief" and banned the state from enforcing its rules "until further order of this court."
Whitmer announced in early September a ban on flavored vaping products in Michigan, following reports of a marked increase in youth usage and an uptick in presumed vaping-related illnesses.
The emergency rules banning the flavors were issued after Chief Medical Executive Joneigh Khaldun declared a public health emergency over the increase in youth e-cigarette use.
The ban went into place Oct. 1 but is being challenged in state and federal courts by Michigan vape shop owners.
Vapers have protested the changes, noting Michigan just passed a law making it illegal for children to use vaping products and arguing the ban could have an impact on those who use e-cigarettes as a relatively healthier alternative to combustible cigarettes.
Vapers also have argued that an uptick in vaping-related lung sicknesses was not tied to flavored nicotine devices, but to ones containing various forms of THC.
