LANSING, Mich. – Michigan's governor is asking the state Supreme Court to take on the state's vaping case after a ban on flavored e-cigarettes was blocked by the Court of Claims.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer filed an application Friday for emergency leave with the Michigan Court of Appeals and asked the Michigan Supreme Court to take the case directly.
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Last week, the Court of Claims issued an order blocking the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services' ban on flavored nicotine vaping products.
"It's more important than ever that we listen to our public health officials when they make recommendations to protect our citizens," Whitmer said. "Our chief medical officer has found that the explosive increase in youth vaping that we've seen over the past few years is a public health emergency. For the sake of our kids and our overall public health, we must act swiftly to get these harmful and addictive products off the market. I'm hopeful that the Supreme Court will immediately take up this case so we can ensure our kids' safety."
Here's what the official filing for emergency leave reads, in part:
"The court of claims not only misunderstood the law and errantly issued a preliminary injunction, it also fundamentally compromised both the public health of this state and the exercise of core and critical power of the executive branch. … By enjoining defendants from enforcing the rules that were enacted to address this emergency, the Court of Claims left this state paralyzed in a perilous status quo and marked out a form of judicial intervention that is both dangerous and contrary to law: courts second-guessing the expert judgment of public health officials dealing with a public health emergency."
Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the chief medical executive, made a finding in September that suggested youth vaping constitutes a public health emergency, Whitmer said.
The governor ordered MDHHS to ban the sale of flavored vaping products in stores and online.
Here's the full filing: