Dr. Dean Sidelinger, health officer at the Oregon Health Authority, is firm, if polite: “If you vape, whether it’s cannabis, nicotine or other products, please quit,” he said recently. It’s good advice, and vapers would be wise to take it.

They may have to. Gov. Kate Brown has given the Oregon Health Authority 24 hours to recommend what steps the state should take to prevent further problems. State Rep. Cheri Helt, R-Bend, has asked the governor to impose a temporary ban on vaping products and plans to introduce legislation for the 2020 Legislature that would ban flavored e-cigarettes and vape products.

Two people in Oregon have died from a lung illness related to vaping in recent months, with news of the second death made public this week. In addition, at least three other people in the state have come down with a severe lung disease that’s been linked to more than 800 vaping-related illnesses nationwide.

The two people who died had vaped cannabis products, as have many other victims. Cannabis vaping products are legal in Oregon, and both victims had purchased legal products. The marijuana used to make them had been tested for purity at least twice, while any flavorings also must have been certified, according to Mark Pettinger of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which regulates marijuana and marijuana products in the state.

There’s still no clear cause of what’s responsible for the vaping-related lung illnesses, and knowing that should push vapers to voluntarily quit the practice, at least until a definite cause, or causes, accounting for all the deaths can be identified.

Vapers shouldn’t wait for the state to act to ban the practice, in other words. For their own health, they should quit now.