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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — A judge has rejected Gov. Charlie Baker’s appeal against a decision made by another judge earlier this week that changes need to be made to his vape ban.
Appeals Court Judge Kenneth Desmond, Jr. upheld Suffolk Superior Court Judge Douglas Wilkins' decision that the Baker Administration has until Monday to amend the ban.
Now, Gov. Baker must either lift the ban on the sale of vaping products or issue an emergency regulation.
Baker told reporters Friday that he still believes the vape ban was the right course of action.
"This is not a small issue, and the fact that vaping was supposed to be safe—clearly, it's not as safe as people thought it was, and until we have better data on that, I think what we've chosen to pursue was exactly the right strategy," Gov. Baker told reporters Friday.
Baker said officials need to find out the exact cause of the illness, and until then, he believes the vape market shouldn't be operating as it was before.
"It's troubling to me that this has been a mounting problem since this summer, and at this point in time, people are still guessing about what it is that's actually created chemical burn harm on people's lungs in many cases, and has actually led to the deaths of over 30 people," he said.
Vape store owners have been pushing to have the ban completely lifted, saying it is destroying their industry.
The Baker Administration has until next week to decide how to move forward. They said in a statement they will be working with the Attorney General’s Office on the decision.
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