PORTLAND, Ore. — Multnomah County is set to ban flavored tobacco and nicotine products starting January 1, unless the Oregon Court of Appeals steps in in the final hours to put a pause on the ban.
Without judicial intervention, Multnomah County will become the first county in Oregon to ban flavored tobacco, achieving a goal that county commissioners and health officials have targeted for years.
Meanwhile, vape and tobacco shop owners around the Portland area said they will be forced to close if the ban goes into effect, laying off their staff members to start 2024.
Sheila LaPlante, manager for Vape Lounge at Tobacco Land on Northeast Sandy Blvd in Portland, said it's clear to her what will happen if Multnomah County's flavored tobacco ban stands.
"All businesses would basically have to close up and all the employees would lose their jobs, while all the customers go to Clackamas County [or the state of Washington] and give them all their business," LaPlante said.
After a county judge sided with Multnomah County, tobacco and vaping interests asked the Oregon Court of Appeals for an emergency stay on the order before the new year.
The motion, filed on December 20, said the the ban will "permanently and irreparably harm" vape stores and similar parties, leading to the "evisceration of their businesses, termination of employees, breach of leases, and substantial lost income."
LaPlante said 98% of her business is flavored tobacco or vaping products. She'd be forced to close and lay off seven staff members.
Other managers and owners in Multnomah County wrote in as part of the lawsuit, expressing similar perspectives.
Sami Hales, owner of House of Pipes & Tobacco and House of Vapes, said he employs 48 people who would likely be fired if the ban goes into effect. Hales said he stands to lose $7 million in revenue over the next year, with $4.55 million of that revenue being paid in Oregon Tobacco Taxes.
Raed Dabbaf, owner of Leaf Tobacco, wrote he would be forced to fire eight staff members, writing that flavored tobacco products and inhalant delivery systems make up 80% of his inventory and business.
County health officials said the ban will address preventable deaths and health issues — pointing to studies that show young people use flavored products as a gateway to nicotine addiction.
"This ordinance is another step toward protecting young people from the harms of tobacco and nicotine," said Kari McFarlan, Tobacco Control and Prevention Program Supervisor.
LaPlante said wiping out ‘over 21-year-old’ stores like hers won’t have any effect on youth nicotine use.
“Do you want your kids smoking Marlboros or do you want them vaping a low nicotine flavor," she said. "You know, there's all kinds of aspects to it and there's all kinds of solutions, but is what they're doing going to solve the use problem? It is not."
In 2022, a judge ruled against a similar flavored tobacco ban in Washington County — setting the stage for Multnomah County's ban to become the first enacted in the state.
In the 11 years since changing her store to focus on vaping and flavored products instead of tobacco, LaPlante said people have been changed for the better.
“I probably have anywhere from 150 to 300 customers who got off cigarettes and onto vaping that are still alive, that probably wouldn't [have been] alive today," she said. "Some of them, even personal friends.."
If the ban goes through, LaPlante said she expects most people just to go to neighboring counties to buy flavored products.
A Multnomah County spokesperson said the county will wait to comment until after Jan. 1, reflective of how both sides are looking to see if there will be any decisions passed down from the Oregon Court of Appeals on the motion for an emergency stay.