Governor wants vape ban

Local shop owner expresses anxiety

Posted

ALBANY, NY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo on September 16 announced that he will try to enact an emergency ban on all flavored electronic cigarettes in New York State. The move comes after at least seven people in the U.S. died of lung illnesses linked to vaping products or e-cigarettes. At least 380 cases of lung illness have been reported in 36 states, and 42 cases have been reported in New York State.

Cuomo directed Howard Zucker, the director of the NY Department of Public Health (DOH). to work together with the NY State Police to immediately step up enforcement efforts against vape shops that sell e-cigarettes to underage customers. Cuomo also announced he is going to work on legislation that would address what he called the “deceptive” marketing of e-cigarettes to teens and children.

“New York is confronting this crisis head-on, and today we are taking another nation-leading step to combat a public health emergency,” Cuomo said. “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.”

John Anthony, manager of Mr. Vape Guru on Pleasant Street in Monticello, said if that Cuomo’s ban becomes real, it will mean the closure of hundreds of e-cigarette or vape shops across the state, and many people would become unemployed. He said his store does not sell e-cigarettes to minors, but he does have repeat customers and that the business, which has been open for four years, has been growing. But he also said, if Cuomo’s ban actually becomes law, his store will likely close.

Further he said it’s it not legal products sold in vape shops like his that are making people sick. Anthony said the products causing the illnesses are counterfeit e-cigarette and vaping products sold online that contain vitamin E acetate, and the legal products that he sells do not contain that substance.

But Cuomo is not the only public official who is considering a ban on flavored e-cigarettes. President Donald Trump announced two weeks ago that the Food and Drug Administration would ban flavored e-cigarettes across the nation. Later, however, he said that there should be a focus on stopping the sale of counterfeit vaping products that are sold openly on the internet.

The action from Cuomo came after he had taken other steps to address the issue. On September 12, he directed state agencies to launch education awareness programs on vaping and to include vaping and e-cigarette cessation measures in their educational programs and employee trainings.

On September 9, Cuomo directed DOH to launch an investigation into companies that produce vaping substances, and also directed vape shops to post warnings that says e-cigarettes pose a health risk.

vape, vaping, e-cigarettes, Monticello

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