AKRON, Ohio — Governor Mike DeWine is examining if flavored e-cigarettes can be banned across the state by an executive order without changing Ohio law.
"We are in the midst of a public health crisis," DeWine said. "This is why I have directed my legal team to investigate the possibility of banning nicotine flavors, which are clearly being targeted to young people who are getting addicted."
Bill Samaco owns five vaping shops in the Akron area called Awesome Sauce Vapor and said sales from flavored e-cigarette products make up 85% of a $1 billion dollar business. He believes hundreds of shops across Ohio would close if a ban went into effect.
"If they take away 85% of your product that you sell, you're not going to have a choice but to go out of business," Samaco said. "We just believe that it's far over-reaching. They're trying to solve a problem that isn't there."
Samaco spoke to News 5 from Washington D.C. where he was meeting with legislators to push back against a possible ban. He said 14 vape shop owners were taking part in meetings.
Health officials have reported that more than a dozen Ohioans—teens or young adults—have been hospitalized with severe lung disease because of vaping.
But Samaco doesn't believe those people bought their products from shops.
"All these breathing problems, everything going on is being caused by black market illegal THC carts that people are buying and it's being mixed with vitamin E acetate," he said.
However, Marlene Martin, a spokesperson for Summit County Health, doesn't see it that way.
"There have been vaping-related illnesses linked to both the illegal or black market, if you will, as well as those sold in stores," Martin said. "Across the country, there has been a spike in cases of vaping-related illness, up to 450 now, and those are the numbers from a few days ago."
Samaco doesn't believe vaping is harmless, but called it "harm-reducing" and argues it helps people quit smoking.
But Miller said vaping is proving to be a concerning trend for kids. She pointed to a recent survey that showed 25% of high school students in Summit County had tried vaping products within 30 days.
Miller said Summit County Public Health would support action the governor might take to enact a ban.
"It's definitely an emerging public health concern," she said. "Summit County Public Health is in total support of him banning those flavored vaping products because research shows that kids and young adults are more attracted to the flavored vaping products."
