Credit: WXYZ Detroit

Gov. Whitmer will be taking the ban to the Michigan Supreme Court.

A judge has blocked Michigan’s ban on flavored e-cigarettes. That preliminary injunction on the ban, which was imposed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, has caused the governor to seek an immediate stay.

Whitmer made national headlines when she announced the controversial ban.

“It would never be permitted if it was cigarettes, but we’re letting these companies target our kids, appeal to our kids, deceive our children, and they’re showing up with respiratory illnesses no one can explain,” said Whitmer.

While the ban was announced on Sept. 3, it didn’t take effect until Oct. 2. This immediately made vape shop owners and employees fear for their futures.

“It’ a total loss for the business, which will set us back two to three years,” one vaping business owner told WXYZ.

“When your job is kind of on the line, you get that little bit of anxiety in the back of your head, like ‘This could really be it and I might have to go look for somewhere else to work,'” said vaping business employee Jamal Arrington.

The nearly month-long delay in implementing the ban prompted Court of Claims Judge Cynthia Stephens to issue a preliminary injunction after vaping business owners filed suit.

She said Whitmer’s administration delay undercut the position that emergency rules were needed. Judge Stephens also said there was evidence that adults will return to regular tobacco products if vaping products are outlawed.

Gov. Whitmer released a statement saying, “The decision is wrong. It misreads the law and sets a dangerous precedent of a court second-guessing the expert judgment of public health officials dealing with a crisis.” She plans to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.