New York Flavored E-Cigarette Ban Passes: Reports

NEW YORK — New York Governer Andrew Cuomo's emergency executive action banning the sale of flavored e-cigarettes has gone through with support from the Public Health and Health Planning Council, which voted Tuesday to move forward with the ban, reports say.

"New York is confronting this crisis head-on and today we are taking another nation-leading step to combat a public health emergency," the Democratic governor said. "Manufacturers of fruit and candy-flavored e-cigarettes are intentionally and recklessly targeting young people."

Only two of about 19 members of the Public Health and Health Planning Council voted against the vape sales ban, Newsday reported.

Newsday reported the ban will take effect on Oct. 4 and that violators can be fined up to $2,000 per unit of e-liquid sold.

Opponents of the ban say vaping can help people quit smoking cigarettes. The state's rules will not apply to tobacco and menthol flavors, which have been shown to help some people quit smoking regular cigarettes, Cuomo said.

State officials worry that other flavors such as "Bubblegum" and "Captain Crunch" are drawing teens to vaping even though the products are dangerous and addictive. Nearly one in five 15-to-17-year-olds say the flavors got them to try e-cigarettes and 27 percent said they kept using them because of the flavors, according to a 2017 state survey the governor's office cited.

See more on Patch:

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• 2 LI Teens Hospitalized After Vaping THC Oil; 1 Put Into Coma
• As Cuomo Cracks Down On Vaping Industry, Feds Follow Suit: Report
• Cuomo Cracks Down On Vaping Industry Amid Dozens Of Illnesses
• Flavored E-Cigarettes Face 'Emergency' Ban In New York

However, about two-thirds of high school students who vape use menthol or mint flavors, according to Michael Seilback, national assistant vice president of state public policy for the American Lung Association, Newsday reported.

See Gov. Cuomo's emergency declaration banning flavored e-cigarette sales here.

"These menthol products are as likely to hook another generation of kids [on nicotine], and we have the opportunity to act," he said, according to the outlet.

Health officials say there have been 380 vaping-related health cases, including six deaths, the AP reported. President Donald Trump has proposed a similar ban.