Governor issues emergency executive order banning sale of flavored e-cigarettes in New York

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ALBANY – Saying flavored e-cigarette use by young people is getting them addicted to the nicotine, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Sunday a ban on the sale of those products in the state.

“This is a public health crisis,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker.  “This is such an important issue. It is evolving; it’s changing every day and we need to tackle this as fast as possible. We saw this with tobacco, we saw this decades ago. We don’t need to repeat history. We need to tackle this right now and do it fast.”

The officials also noted that some chemical additives cause lung and other health issues.

Orange County Health Commissioner Dr. Irina Gelman called the ban “fantastic,” but believes it should go another step forward.

“There is absolutely no need for vaping, or smoking, or chewing or any other means of ingesting or inhaling tobacco and in all honesty we shouldn’t be ingesting anything but pure air,” Gelman said.

State Senator David Carlucci (D, New City) said the executive order “will save lives and hold vaping manufacturers accountable.”

Within two weeks, once the rules have been drafted, flavored e-cigarettes will be outlawed. The governor and commissioner both noted they are aimed at enticing young people to use them and get hooked on nicotine.

“Vaping is nicotine and nicotine is highly addictive,” Cuomo said. He cited health department data that nearly 40 percent of 12th graders and 27 percent of high school students in New York are now using e-cigarettes, and the increase is largely driven by flavored e-liquids.

Only tobacco and method e-cigarettes will be allowed for sale in New York. The continued approval of menthol e-cigarettes was immediately criticized by the American Lung Association. That group said method is favored by a majority of high school students.

The governor wants the state legislature to enact the ban into law when it convenes next year and he wants the e-cigarette purchasing age from 18 to 21 as it is for regular cigarettes.




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