The first-in-the-country ban on the sale of all vape products in Massachusetts will continue for at least another two months, after a state judge denied industry appeals to strike down the ban. But the ruling wasn't a total win for the Baker administration, which was forced to formally submit the ban as an emergency regulation in order to continue restricting nicotine vaping products. The governor has argued the products should remain off store shelves while health officials figure out the cause of vape-related lung illnesses. Is this stopping teens from vaping? Stephanie Leydon reports.
Meanwhile, the debate about whether the ban was the right decision from a public health perspective has been ramping up since Baker's announcement last month. Jim Braude was joined by Shaleen Title, who believes the ban actually makes the vaping problem worse by driving people to the illicit market or back to cigarettes; and Dr. Sharon Levy, a pediatrician who directs the adolescent substance use and addiction program at Boston Children's Hospital, who believes the ban is the right move to protect consumers, particularly young people.
