The Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services (DPHHS) said on Friday that it intends to begin enforcing Emergency Rules that temporarily restrict the sale of flavored e-cigarette products in Montana.
Enforcement of the Emergency Rules will begin on Wednesday, December 18, 2019 at 1:00 pm, according to the agency. The restrictions include the sale of all flavored e-cigarette products, including flavored nicotine, THC, and CBD e-cigarette products, in-store and online.
The rules do not require retailers to destroy their existing inventory.
The original order in October was set to last for 120 days; we do not yet know if the 120 days begin next week, or are retroactive to the date of the original order.
Here is a timeline of events leading up to Friday's announcement:
- AUG 30: Vaping advocate blames lung issues on THC-filled, illegal cartridges
- SEP 20: Montana reports 1st case of severe pulmonary disease linked to vaping
- OCT 8: E-cigarettes will be banned temporarily in Montana
- OCT 16: Montana's first death associated with vaping
- OCT 17: MT vape shops sue to block Gov. Bullock’s ban on flavored products
- OCT 18: Judge blocks Bullock’s ban on flavored vaping products
- NOV 8: Vaping illness - Vitamin E acetate and THC may be to blame
DPHHS is proceeding with enforcement of the rules after a Temporary Restraining Order preventing enforcement expired by operation of law in October. Since the Emergency Rules were first announced, DPHHS has confirmed five additional cases of E-cigarette or Vaping Product Use Associated Lung Injury (EVALI) in Montana.
Latest information from
the CDC website
:
- Analyses of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid samples (fluid samples collected from the lungs) of patients with e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) identified vitamin E acetate , an additive in some THC-containing e-cigarette, or vaping, products.
- CDC laboratory test results of BAL fluid samples from 29 patients submitted to CDC from 10 states found vitamin E acetate in all of the samples.
- THC was identified in 82% of the samples and nicotine was identified in 62% of the samples.
- CDC tested for a range of other chemicals that might be found in e-cigarette, or vaping, products, including plant oils, petroleum distillates like mineral oil, MCT oil, and terpenes (which are compounds found in or added to THC products). None of these chemicals of concern were detected in the BAL fluid samples tested.
- This is the first time that we have detected a chemical of concern in biologic samples from patients with these lung injuries. These findings provide direct evidence of vitamin E acetate at the primary site of injury within the lungs.
- These findings complement the ongoing work of the FDA and some state public health laboratories to characterize e-liquid exposures and inform the ongoing multistate outbreak.
About the Outbreak:
- CDC is only reporting hospitalized EVALI cases and EVALI deaths regardless of hospitalization status. CDC has removed nonhospitalized cases from previously reported case counts. See Public Health Reporting for more information.
- As of December 10, 2019, a total of 2,409 hospitalized EVALI cases have been reported to CDC from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and two U.S. territories (Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands).
- Fifty-two deaths have been confirmed in 26 states and the District of Columbia (as of December 10, 2019).
- Although the number of reported cases appears to be declining, states are still reporting new hospitalized EVALI cases to CDC on a weekly basis and should remain vigilant with EVALI case finding and reporting.
