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PARKERSBURG -- A senator from Monongalia County has asked the governor to declare a public health emergency over the dangers of e-cigarettes and vaping.
Sen. Bob Beach in a letter to Gov. Jim Justice requested he instruct the state Department of Health and Human Resources through the Bureau for Public Health to enact emergency rules prohibiting the sale of flavored electronic nicotine delivery systems.
California, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Washington, Utah, Oregon, Montana and Michigan have banned the sale of vaping products, Beach said in the letter.
"In June, San Francisco became the first major city in the United States to ban the sale of e-cigarettes," he said.
Beach's request for the declaration followed an incident at Morgantown High School where two students overdosed on heroin injected into vape pen chemical canisters, Beach said. Police arrested a juvenile and seized more than 100 charged vape solutions, marijuana, packaging materials and empty vape cartridges.
Generally, vaping products commercially purchased are safe and have helped people to stop smoking, Sen. Mike Azinger, R-Wood, said. Most of the problems have been from buying and using black-market products of which substances have been added or the additives are unknown, according to Azinger.
"Vaping, generally, helps a lot of people get off smoking," he said.
While vaping has yet to formally go before legislators in West Virginia, lawmakers haven't met for interim meetings since September and the national discussions about e-cigarettes and vaping have just moved to a forefront, according to Delegate John Kelly, R-Wood.
"It seems to be gaining a lot of momentum," he said.
Interim meetings of the Legislature resume on Monday.
"There's likely to be some discussion about it," Kelly said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and state and local health departments across the country are investigating an outbreak of severe lung disease from using vaping products, Beach said. National and local authorities, the U.S. surgeon general and the West Virginia state health officer have issued warnings about the effects and potential abuses of vape products and e-cigarettes, Beach said.
On Oct. 5, the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department issued a warning that residents should refrain from using e-cigarettes or vaping products pending additional research. Carrie Brainard of the health department said the entire chemical makeup of electronic cigarettes has yet to be determined.
Beach pointed out the White House in September announced the Food and Drug Administration will develop guidelines to remove all e-cigarette flavors, aside from tobacco flavor, from the market.
State action should align with the coming changes, Beach said. Beach requested the declaration be immediately effective.
"It is clear that it is necessary for the state of West Virginia to take immediate action to address this public health emergency," Beach said.
Jess Mancini can be reached at jmancini@newsandsentinel.com.