UPDATED 9/17, 6:20 p.m. ET: New York has become to first state to ban flavored e-cigarettes, NBC News reports.
"New York is not waiting for the federal government to act, and by banning flavored e-cigarettes we are safeguarding the public health and helping prevent countless young people from forming costly, unhealthy and potentially deadly life-long habits," Governor Andrew Cuomo said.
News of the ban comes on the heels of the seventh vaping-related death to be reported in the United States.
See original story below.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced an “emergency executive action,” which will place a ban on the sale of flavored e-cigarettes, or vapes. after a rash of vape-related illnesses in his home state.
CBS reports that the executive order will quicken legislation that intends to eliminate deceptive marketing practices aimed at underage e-cig users and raise the purchasing age from 18 to 21.
“New York is confronting this crisis head-on and today we are taking another nation-leading step to combat a public health emergency,” Governor Cuomo said in a statement, per CBS. “Manufacturers of fruit and candy-flavored e-cigarettes are intentionally and recklessly targeting young people, and today we're taking action to put an end to it. At the same time, unscrupulous stores are knowingly selling vaping products to underage youth—those retailers are now on notice that we are ramping up enforcement and they will be caught and prosecuted.”
New York state police will work with the Department of Health to run undercover investigations under the Adolescent Tobacco Use Prevention Act. Per the executive order, retailers who are caught selling tobacco and vaping products to underage kids will be hit with criminal and civil penalties.
Cuomo held a press conference on Sunday morning, where he announced that his administration would like to start imposing the new executive order by Oct. 4.
On Sept. 11, news emerged that another person died from a mysterious vaping-related illness. The man’s death is now at least the sixth that has been attributed to an outbreak, which has made hundreds of others sick. The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention are investigating roughly 450 potential instances of the mysterious lung disease, which they believe could be related to vaping. Last week, President Trump also called for a ban on flavored e-cigarettes.
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