BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — A rally was held outside the Massachusetts State House Thursday in protest of a temporary ban on the sale of all vaping products, e-cigarettes, and liquid nicotine and marijuana.
Dozens of vape users and independent vape store owners carried signs that read “We vape, we vote,” “Vape saves lives,” and “Prohibition never works.”
The store owners protested that the ban has either put them out of business or has left their businesses hanging on by a thread.
“It put me out of a job, it put my owners out of a job, it put everybody out of a job,” said Patrick Ritter, who runs two North Shore vape shops that are now closed.
Gov. Charlie Baker implemented the four-month ban, saying that vaping-related illnesses were a public health emergency.
“It’s not like we’re trying to harm anybody, we’re just trying to help people get off cigarettes,” Ritter said.
WBZ NewsRadio's Kim Tunnicliffe (@KimWBZ) reports
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