Page 1 of 3 
 
RULE -MAKING ORDER  
EMERGENCY RULE ONLY  
 
 CODE REVISER USE ONLY  
 
 CR-103E (December 2017)  
(Implements RCW 34.05.350  
and 34.05.360 ) 
 
Agency:  State Board of Health  
Effective date of rule:  
Emergency Rules  
     Immediately upon filing.  
     Later (specify) 07/17/2020  
Any other findings required by other provisions of law as precondition to adoption or effectiveness of rule?  
 Yes      No     If Yes, explain :  
Purpose:        WAC 246 -80-021 - Prohibition - Vitamin E Acetate. The Washington State Board of Health has adopted an 
emergency rule to continue the ban on the sale of vapor products containing vitamin E acetate. This applies to the sale, offe r 
for sale, or possessi on with intent to sell or offer for sale vapor products containing vitamin E acetate at any location or by any 
means including by telephone or other method of voice transmission, the mail or any other delivery service, or the internet o r 
other online servi ce.This emergency rule supersedes the emergency rule filed as WSR 20 -08-007 on March 19, 2020.  
Citation of rules affected by this order:  
New:      WAC 246 -80-021 
Repealed:  none  
Amended:  none  
Suspended:  none  
Statutory authority for adoption: RCW 43.20.050(2)(f)  
Other authority:  
EMERGENCY RULE  
     Under RCW 34.05.350 the agency for good cause finds:  
          That immediate adoption, amendment, or repeal of a rule is necessary for the preservation of the public health, 
safety, or general welfare, and that observing the time requirements of notice an d opportunity to comment upon 
adoption of a permanent rule would be contrary to the public interest.  
          That state or federal law or federal rule or a federal deadline for state receipt of federal funds requires immediate 
adoption of a rule.  
Reasons for this finding :       The standards in this emergency rule have not changed from the previous emergency rule. 
Since the previous emergency rule, the Board has filed a pre -proposal statement of inquiry, CR -101, filed as WSR 20 -10-113 
on May 6, 2020, for permanent rulemakin g to prohibit the use of vitamin E acetate in vapor products.  
 
In July 2019 the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), United States Food and Drug 
Administration, state and local health jurisdictions and other clinical and public h ealth partners began investigation [of] 
outbreaks of lung injury associated with e -cigarette product use, or vaping. In September 2019, the CDC activated its 
Emergency Operations Center to aid in the investigation of the multi -state outbreak. As of Februar y 18, 2020, CDC reported a 
total of two thousand eight hundred seven cases of hospitalized e -cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury 
(EVALI) cases, and sixty -eight deaths in twenty -nine states and the District of Columbia. Twenty -seven cas es of lung injury, 
including two deaths have been reported in Washington state.  
 
As part of the investigation into the multistate outbreak of lung disease associated with the use of vapor products, a recent  
study cited by the CDC conducted laboratory tests  of fifty -one samples of fluid collected from the lungs of patients with 
vaping -associated lung disease from sixteen states. Forty -nine samples contained vitamin E acetate, providing direct 
evidence of vitamin E acetate at the primary site of the injury in  the lungs. Vitamin E acetate is a chemical that is used as an 
additive or thickening ingredient in vapor products. THC was identified in forty -seven of fifty samples and nicotine was 
identified in thirty of forty -seven samples. None of a range of other po tential chemicals of concern was detected in the 
samples, but evidence is not yet sufficient to rule out the contribution of other chemicals, substances or product sources to  
the disease. The CDC has identified vitamin E acetate as a chemical of concern an d recommends that vitamin E acetate not 
be added to any vapor products.  
 
Page 2 of 3 This legislative session, the governor submitted request legislation (SB 6254) aimed at increasing regulation of vapor 
products in Washington. The bill included a ban of vitamin E ace tate, however the legislature failed to pass SB 6254. Due to 
the clear association of vitamin E acetate with EVALI and absent legislative action to ban vitamin E acetate the board has 
determined that continuing a ban is necessary to protect the public heal th, safety and welfare while permanent rulemaking 
commences.  
  Page 3 of 3 Note:   If any category is left blank, it will be calculated as zero.  
No descriptive text.  
 
Count by whole WAC sections only, from the WAC number through the history note.  
A section may be counted in more than one category.  
The number of sections adopted in order to comply with:  
Federal statute:   New 0 Amended  0 Repealed  0  
Federal rules or standards:   New 0 Amended  0 Repealed  0  
Recently enacted state statutes:   New 0 Amended  0 Repealed  0  
  
The number of sections adopted at the request of a nongovernmental entity:  
New   0 Amended  0 Repealed  0  
  
The number of sections adopted o n the agency’s own initiative:  
New   1 Amended  0 Repealed  0  
  
The number of sections adopted in order to clarify, streamline, or reform agency procedures:  
New   0 Amended  0 Repealed  0  
  
The number of sections adopted using:  
Negotiated rule making:   New 0 Amended  0 Repealed  0  
Pilot rule making:   New 0 Amended  0 Repealed  0  
Other alternative rule making:   New 1 Amended  0 Repealed  0  
  
Date Adopted: 06/10/2020  Signature:  
 Name: Michelle A. Davis  
Title: Executive Director  
 
NEW SECTION
WAC 246-80-021   Prohibition —Vitamin E acetate.   (1) Vitamin E 
acetate is a chemical that is used as an additive or thickening ingre-
dient in vapor products. As part of the investigation into the multi-
state outbreak of lung disease associated with the use of vapor prod-
ucts, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)  conducted laboratory tests 
of twenty-nine samples of fluid collected from the lungs of patients 
with vaping-associated lung disease from ten states. All of the sam-
ples contained vitamin E acetate, providing direct evidence of vitamin 
E acetate at the primary site of injury in the lungs. The CDC did not 
determine that vitamin E acetate was present in only THC vapor prod-
ucts or only non-THC vapor products. THC was identified in eighty-two 
percent of the samples, and nicotine was identified in sixty-two per-
cent of the samples. Subsequently, tests of fifty-one samples of fluid 
collected from the lungs of patients with vaping-associated lung dis-
ease in sixteen states identified vitamin E acetate in forty-eight of 
the samples. THC was identified in forty-seven of fifty samples and 
nicotine was identified in thirty of forty-seven samples. Evidence is 
not yet sufficient to rule out the contribution of other chemicals, 
substances, or product sources to the disease. The CDC has identified 
vitamin E acetate as a chemical of concern and stated that it is im-
portant that vitamin E acetate not be added to any vapor products. 
Adoption of a rule prohibiting the sale of vapor products containing 
vitamin E acetate is necessary for the preservation of the public 
health, safety, and general welfare.
(2) No person including, but not limited to, a person licensed 
under chapter 69.50 or 70.345 RCW, may sell, offer for sale, or pos-
sess with intent to sell, or offer for sale vapor products containing 
vitamin E acetate. The foregoing prohibition applies to the sale, of-
fer for sale, or possession with intent to sell or offer for sale va-
por products containing vitamin E acetate at any location or by any 
means in this state including, but not limited to, by means of a tele-
phonic or other method of voice transmission, the mail or any other 
delivery service, or the internet or other online service.
[ 1 ] OTS-1895.3