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Vaping and Your Health

Oregon Health Authority has participated in the investigation of a nationwide outbreak of respiratory illnesses associated with use of vaping devices.  LEARN MORE.

Public health warning: Stop using vaping products

The Oregon Health Authority is urging Oregonians to stop using all vaping products until federal and state officials have determined the cause of serious lung injuries and deaths linked to the use of both cannabis and nicotine vaping products. State health officials will continue to work closely with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration to determine the cause of deaths and illnesses in Oregon and across the nation.


No vaping products should be considered safe.

Until health experts can identify why people who have used these products have become seriously ill, and in some cases died, no vaping product should be used. People who experience symptoms of the illness after using vaping products, such as shortness of breath, cough or chest pain, should immediately seek medical attention.

Español / Spanish

Oregon Quit Line

The Oregon Quit Line is a free, telephone and web-based program that helps youth and adults quit vaping ​cannabis and nicotine. It offers free confidential, evidence-based counseling and materials. Callers 18 years and older can receive Nicotine Replacement Therapy in the form of patches or gum.

The Quit Line is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.


This is Quitting

This is Quitting powered by truth® is a free, confidential, 24-7 texting program for young people who vape. 


Oregon’s Drug and Alcohol Helpline​

The Alcohol and Drug Helpline serves anyone in Oregon who needs information, support or access to resources and treatment for alcohol or drug use. If you or someone you know needs help, the Alcohol and Drug Helpline is free, confidential, and available 24-7, 365 days a year. 

  • Call 800-923-4357
  • Text RecoveryNow to 839863


SAMHSA’s National Helpline

SAMHSA’s National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24-7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families who need support quitting substances other than nicotine.

  • ​Call 1-800-662-HELP (4357)

How to Get Rid of Vaping Products

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) recommends that people who choose to dispose of e-liquids or vape pens make sure they are disposed of properly.

  • Nicotine vape pens and e-liquids: Take these to a facility that accepts household hazardous waste. Find a facility by county or call (toll-free) 800-732-9253 or 503-234-3000.
  • Cannabis vape pens and e-liquids: These will not be accepted at household hazardous waste sites or standard drug take back locations. Visit Oregon Liquor Control Commission's marijuana waste management page for information on how to dispose of these materials.

If you can’t get to one of these locations, you can dispose of vaping products in the regular trash. Remove the batteries for recycling. DEQ recommends visiting the call2Recycle website to find battery collection locations, including retail outlets like Home Depot, Lowe’s, Staples, Best Buy and Walmart.

Executive Order 19-09 to address vaping public health crisis

UPDATE: January 16, 2020

Governor Kate Brown's Executive Order 19-09 was issued October 3, 2019, to address the vaping public health crisis and outbreak of vaping-associated lung injury. As directed by the Governor, OHA adopted a rule banning the sale of flavored nicotine vaping products, but the Oregon Court of Appeals stayed enforcement of the rule. Because of the court ruling, on January 16, 2020, the Oregon Health Authority suspended the temporary rule banning sales of flavored nicotine vaping products.

OHA continues to urge all Oregonians who use vaping products to stop vaping immediately and take advantage of cessation resources. OHA is also working on other components of the Executive Order. OHA is investigating vaping-associated lung injuries. OHA will post the latest information about e-cigarette and vaping-associated lung injury, resources for the public, and tools for health care providers and partner organizations on this web page (healthoregon.org/vaping).

The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has been closely following the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) announcement of a partial sales ban on flavored nicotine vaping products. According to the FDA, companies that do not cease manufacture, distribution and sale of unauthorized flavored cartridge-based e-cigarette (other than tobacco or menthol) within 30 days risk FDA enforcement action.

OHA has repeatedly urged the FDA to ban all flavored tobacco products, without exemptions. While we recognize FDA’s intent, the proposed enforcement action falls short of its stated goal to protect the public’s health. The FDA’s action exempts menthol and open tank e-cigarettes, which allow customers to custom-mix flavors. These exemptions will drastically limit FDA’s effectiveness in reducing youth vaping. The most recent evidence shows that mint and menthol are among the most popular vape flavors for youth. This comes on top of decades of tobacco industry targeting of African-American communities with menthol marketing and discounts, contributing to a heavier burden of tobacco use, death and disease in that population. The FDA’s action also falls short on limiting youth access. Several studies have shown that it’s easier for underage buyers to purchase vaping products illegally from vape shops than from other types of retailers.

In December, the U.S. Congress passed legislation raising the national tobacco purchase age from 18 to 21. This is an important step to curb youth tobacco use. But Oregon’s experience shows that raising the minimum age is not enough to stem the youth e-cigarette epidemic. As one of the first states to raise the tobacco purchase age to 21, Oregon still experienced a nearly 80% increase in youth e-cigarette use from 2017 to 2019. One in four Oregon 11th-graders report current use of e-cigarettes and vaping products like Juul.

OHA continues to work on decreasing the use of all vaping products and implementing Gov. Kate Brown’s Executive Order 19-09. OHA is committed to developing strong programs and policies that put protecting Oregon’s kids first – not the tobacco and vape industry.

If you are ready to quit vaping or quit using other tobacco products, free help is available to anyone in Oregon.

The Oregon Quit Line is a free, telephone and web-based program that helps youth and adults quit vaping nicotine. It offers free confidential, evidence-based counseling and materials. Callers 18 years and older can receive Nicotine Replacement Therapy in the form of patches or gum.

This is Quitting powered by truth® is a free, confidential, 24-7 texting program for young people who vape.

Resources

Smokefree Oregon Cessation Campaign Toolkit

This digital media toolkit is for coordinated care organizations (CCOs), health care providers and systems, and local public health authorities (LPHAs) as part of the Oregon Health Authority’s Smokefree Oregon mass media campaign. 

The toolkit includes template emails for providers and patients, social media posts, a PowerPoint presentation, talking points, and posters. These resources are designed to support people as they work to quit their vape or nicotine addiction for good – and to the health care providers helping them to achieve that goal.

Download the Cessation Toolkit - Please allow a few moments for the zip files to download.


Social Cards

  • Ready to quit? Free help is available

vaping social media card example vaping social media card example in Spanish 

UPDATE: January 16, 2020

As of January 16, 2020, the Oregon Health Authority has suspended temporary rules banning flavored vaping products. OHA has made posters available below for retailers to use as consumer warnings on the health risks of vaping and share resources for people who would like to quit nicotine addiction.


Materials for Retailers

Retailers may use the sign below to inform customers of the health risks of vaping and provide information on where customers can find free help to quit nicotine addiction.

Vaping Warning Sign

English

Spanish

Korean​

Russian

Simplified Chinese

Vietnamese


Safe Disposal of Nicotine Waste and Vaping Products

For retailers who want to safely dispose of vape pens and e-liquids as products:

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To help both youth and adults with quitting vaping, more help helps. Please advise them on their options for quitting, including counseling and FDA-approved Nicotine Replacement Therapy. A combination of counseling and medication can increase the chances of successfully quitting. In your continued efforts to help your patients quit vaping products, please refer to the resources below:


Resources for Your Patients

Oregon Quit Line

The Oregon Tobacco Quit Line is a free, telephone and web-based program that helps callers quit. It offers free confidential, evidence-based counseling and materials. Callers 18 years and older can receive Nicotine Replacement Therapy in the form of patches or gum. It's a reliable referral resource for your patients or clients who use combustible cigarettes or vaping/e-cigarette devices.

The Quit Line is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.


This is Quitting

This is Quitting powered by truth® is a free, confidential, 24-7 texting program for young people who vape.


Oregon’s Drug and Alcohol Helpline

The Alcohol and Drug Helpline serves anyone in Oregon who needs information, support or access to resources and treatment for alcohol or drug use. If you or someone you know needs help, the Alcohol and Drug Helpline is free, confidential, and available 24-7, 365-days-a-year.

  • Call 800-923-4357
  • Text RecoveryNow to 839863

SAMHSA’s National Helpline

SAMHSA’s National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families who need support quitting substances other than nicotine.

  • ​Call 1-800-662-HELP (4357)

Resources for Providers

Clinic and Pharmacy Posters

These posters contain information about OHA’s health warning and how to access help to quit.

For clinics:

For pharmacies:


5 A's

Successful intervention for cessation begins with identifying patients who vape and determining the appropriate interventions based upon the patient's willingness to quit. The five major steps to cessation intervention are the "5 A's:" ask, advise, assess, assist and arrange.

Here are two resources that provide information on the 5 A’s:


Online Tobacco Cessation Counseling Training

This short online course will improve your care team’s ability to help patients quit tobacco. The course focuses on Brief Tobacco Intervention and Motivational Interviewing techniques. The course is self-paced and takes approximately 45 minutes. The course can be started, paused and resumed later as needed.


Referring patients to the Oregon Quit Line

Referring patients to the Quit Line is easy and confidential. The Oregon Tobacco Quit Line provides tobacco cessation services at no charge to your Patients/Clients.


Cessation Billing Code Guidance

To understand what billing codes are often used for tobacco cessation billing, please refer to the following resources:


Alcohol and Drug Treatment Providers in Oregon

E-cigarettes and vaping products such as Juul are the most commonly used tobacco product among Oregon youth. These products contain nicotine, which is highly addictive. Between 2017 and 2019, vaping product use among Oregon 11th graders increased nearly 80%, from 13% to 23%. Flavored products are especially popular among youth.

Schools, health care providers, and other organizations that work directly with youth have already been dealing with the challenge of youth vaping. With the temporary ban on flavored vape products, OHA is providing the following resources to help young people recognize the harms of vaping and get support to quit.


OHA Vaping and Quit Information Posters

For Youth

For Parents and Educators


Letter Template for Schools


Additional Resources

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Local and Tribal Public Health Authorities can support implementation of Executive Order 19-09 ​by communicating with staff, local health care providers, and the public about vaping-associated lung injury, the health risks of vaping, quit resources, and tobacco and other drug prevention.

Latest updates

Information from CDC

Questions and comments

Governor’s Executive Order

Share your opinion

Governor’s Constituent Services Office
503-378-4582

 By mail:
Governor Brown
Attn: Citizens' Representative
160 State Capitol
900 Court Street
Salem, Oregon 97301-4047

Tobacco products and prevention

More.FreshAir@dhsoha.state.or.us
971-673-0984
FAX: 971-673-0994
TTY: 711

OLCC licensees

marijuana@oregon.gov
503-872-5000
800-452-6522

 Media contact

OHA External Relations

phd.communications@dhsoha.state.or.us