New York State Will be Banning Flavored E-Cigarettes By Emergency Order

A second state is looking to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) told reporters on Sunday that he would be looking into an emergency order to ban the sale of flavored e-cigs this week in his state.

“Vaping is dangerous. Period. No one can say long-term use of vaping — where you’re inhaling steam and chemicals deep into your lungs — is healthy,” Cuomo said at the announcement in Manhattan, according to The New York Times.

There have been at least six deaths nationwide connected to vaping, in California, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, and Oregon. The Guardian reported that more than 450 cases of lung problems have also been reported, but there have been no one type of device linked to all the cases.

New York state heath commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said on Sunday that at least 64 lung disease cases have been linked to vaping in the state. “We need to tackle this as fast as possible. We don’t need to repeat history,” he said, the Times reported.

Michigan was the first state to pursue a ban against flavored e-cigarettes. The state’s department of health is investigating at least six lung infections that have been tied to vaping.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the ban was to protect children, who are being marketed “candy flavors” of nicotine products. “As governor, my number one priority is keeping our kids safe. And right now, companies selling vaping products are using candy flavors to hook children on nicotine and misleading claims to promote the belief that these products are safe. That ends today,” Whitmer said in a statement to the Detroit Free Press. “Our kids deserve leaders who are going to fight to protect them. These bold steps will finally put an end to these irresponsible and deceptive practices and protect Michiganders’ public health.”

President Donald Trump is also, sort of, on the ban e-cigarettes train. On Friday afternoon, Trump tweeted that keeping children from vaping must be a priority.

On Wednesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said the department would be issuing guidelines to remove flavored nicotine packets from the market. “It’ll take several weeks for us to put out the final guidance that will announce all the parameters around the enforcement policy, and then there will likely be about a 30-day delay to effective date, as is customary,” Azar said with Trump and first lady Melania Trump in the Oval Office, according to CNN. “At that point all flavored e-cigarettes other than tobacco flavor would have to be removed from the market.”