LATEST ALERTS
6th May 2024
- US - Oregon: The Oregon Court of Appeals has upheld a Washington County ordinance banning all flavoured tobacco sales. The ordinance was approved in 2022, but it was not enforced because a circuit court judge overturned it. Circuit judge Andrew Erwin wrote that prohibiting the sale of flavoured tobacco must come from the state, not the county. The county appealed the judge’s decision, and the Court of Appeals found that the county is not preempted by state law. Businesses will be inspected each year to make sure they are complying with the ordinance.
26th September 2023
- US - Oregon: Washington County Circuit Court judge Andrew Erwin has ruled against the county’s flavoured tobacco ban. The ban was part of Ordinance 878, adopted by the Board of County Commissioners in November 2021 and approved by voters in May 2022. “Certainly, the county has broad power to regulate how sales are made, but they cannot bar them entirely,” the judge wrote. In a written statement, the county said it disagrees with the court’s ruling and is considering options for an appeal. Washington County has a population of around 600,000.
6th September 2023
- US - Oregon: The Multnomah County Circuit Court ruled in favour of Multnomah County’s ban on flavoured tobacco and nicotine products. In January 2023, tobacco and vaping retailers filed a lawsuit which claimed that the county’s ban was pre-empted by state law. Judge Benjamin Souede said that current law does not prevent the county – acting as the local public health authority – from passing ordinances that will regulate the sale of flavoured tobacco products. The flavour ban will go into effect in January 2024.
30th January 2023
- US - Oregon: Multnomah County is being sued over its ban on flavoured tobacco and vaping products, media reports. Tobacco and vaping retailers filed a lawsuit which claims that the county's ban is pre-empted by state law. Tobacco retailers previously sued Washington County over a similar flavour ban, and won. Furthermore, lawmakers in Oregon recently introduced a bill that would end the sale of flavoured tobacco products across the state.
23rd January 2023
US - Oregon: House Bill 3090 has been introduced, which would ban the sale of flavoured tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, menthol and smokeless tobacco. The bill’s definition of “tobacco products” includes all those that contain either natural or synthetic nicotine.
5th December 2022
- US - Oregon: The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners has approved the first reading of an ordinance banning the sale of flavoured tobacco and nicotine products. A final reading and vote on the ordinance will be held on 15th December. Multnomah County has a population of around 800,000.
29th November 2022
US - Oregon: The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners hosted a public hearing yesterday on proposed rules which would ban the sale of flavoured tobacco and nicotine products in the county. The board is scheduled to hear a first reading of this ordinance on Thursday, with a possible second reading on 15th December. Part of the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area, Multnomah County has a population of just over 800,000 and includes Portland, the largest city in Oregon.
24th October 2022
- US - Oregon: The Multnomah County Public Health Division has recommended that a ban on flavoured tobacco and nicotine products be passed in the county, local news report. The aim behind it is to reduce youth access to these products. Multnomah County has a population of around 815,000, making it the state's most populous county.
29th September 2022
US - Portland Oregon metropolitan area: Washington County’s Ordinance 878 – which passed last November, has been on hold since January, was ratified by voters in May, but kept on hold by a preliminary injunction in July – has now been struck down by a circuit court judge, who decided the county had no authority to enact a local ban on the sale of flavoured tobacco products. The county has issued a statement disagreeing with the ruling and saying it will consider options for an appeal.
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