• FILE - In this Friday, Oct. 4, 2019 file photo, a woman using a vaping device exhales a puff of smoke in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. Senate lawmakers are advancing the nomination of President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration. The Senate health committee on Tuesday voted 18-5 to back Dr. Stephen Hahn, a cancer specialist and hospital executive. But several Democrats voted against his nomination, worrying he would not be tough enough on tackling the problem of underage vaping. The full Senate will vote on whether to confirm Hahn to the post. In September, Trump pledged to ban most vaping flavors to combat underage e-cigarette use. But the administration has backed away from that plan. Photo: Tony Dejak, AP / Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
    FILE - In this Friday, Oct. 4, 2019 file photo, a woman using a vaping device exhales a puff of smoke in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. Senate lawmakers are advancing the nomination of President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration. The Senate health committee on Tuesday voted 18-5 to back Dr. Stephen Hahn, a cancer specialist and hospital executive. But several Democrats voted against his nomination, worrying he would not be tough enough on tackling the problem of underage vaping. The full Senate will vote on whether to confirm Hahn to the post. In September, Trump pledged to ban most vaping flavors to combat underage e-cigarette use. But the administration has backed away from that plan. less
    FILE - In this Friday, Oct. 4, 2019 file photo, a woman using a vaping device exhales a puff of smoke in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. Senate lawmakers are advancing the nomination of President Donald Trump's nominee ... more
    Photo: Tony Dejak, AP
Photo: Tony Dejak, AP
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FILE - In this Friday, Oct. 4, 2019 file photo, a woman using a vaping device exhales a puff of smoke in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. Senate lawmakers are advancing the nomination of President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration. The Senate health committee on Tuesday voted 18-5 to back Dr. Stephen Hahn, a cancer specialist and hospital executive. But several Democrats voted against his nomination, worrying he would not be tough enough on tackling the problem of underage vaping. The full Senate will vote on whether to confirm Hahn to the post. In September, Trump pledged to ban most vaping flavors to combat underage e-cigarette use. But the administration has backed away from that plan. less
FILE - In this Friday, Oct. 4, 2019 file photo, a woman using a vaping device exhales a puff of smoke in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. Senate lawmakers are advancing the nomination of President Donald Trump's nominee ... more
Photo: Tony Dejak, AP

SEATTLE (AP) — Gov. Jay Inslee and other state officials are working on a firmer response to a rise in vaping as Washington's 120-day ban on flavored vaping products reaches its halfway point.

The Seattle Times reports that in addition to a permanent ban on flavored vaping products, Inslee will propose legislation next month that would eliminate bulk sales and cap nicotine levels in noncannabis vaping products. It would also grant the state’s Liquor and Cannabis Board the authority to seize illegal products, and allow the state health secretary to issue emergency bans on certain products or chemicals.

The plan is one of the latest in a yearslong push by some state lawmakers to pass tougher regulations on the vaping industry. Legislation would try to limit the percentage of nicotine in vapes to those found in cigarettes, about 2%. Juul’s products, which are popular with teens, contain 5% nicotine.

The next legislative session, which begins in January, will be the first since the onset of a nationwide outbreak in vaping-related illnesses and deaths, many of which involve teens.

Between 2016 and 2018, the number of Washington students who reported that they vape surged by 20%, according to the state’s Healthy Youth Survey.