Military Exchanges Ban All Vape Sales

JBLM, WA — All Army, Air Force, and Navy Exchange stores have stopped selling vapor products, military officials announced Wednesday. Amid an ongoing national outbreak of serious lung disease cases linked to vaping, the military started pulling the products from the shelves at the end of September. All vendors were required to stop selling e-cigarettes, vapes and other devices after October 1.

In a press release, military officials pointed to the latest CDC numbers on lung injuries and addressed the uncertainty around the products' ingredients.

"The vapor that users inhale can contain ultrafine particles, carcinogens, volatile organic compounds and heavy metals," said Captain Kimberly Elenberg, with the Public Health Service.

"Vaping is not harmless, and researchers are still trying to understand the long-term impacts and health effects from inhaling the vapor."

Military officials said exchanges previously carried limited vapor products and had already stopped selling flavored cartridges and liquids prior to the new ban. In Washington State, health officials enacted an emergency ban on flavored vape products in early October. Updated numbers from the state Department of Health show at least a dozen confirmed and probable cases of severe lung illnesses linked to vaping.