NY moves to enact statewide flavored e-cig ban

(16 Sep 2019) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus123578 New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is pushing to enact a statewide ban on the sale of flavored e-cigarettes amid growing health concerns connected to vaping, especially among young people. The Democrat announced Sunday that the state health commissioner would be making a recommendation this week to the state Public Health and Health Planning Council. The council can issue emergency regulations that would go into effect as soon as they are voted on and start being enforced in as soon as two weeks, following a short grace period for retailers, officials said. In announcing the action, Cuomo sharply criticized the flavors that are for sale, like bubble gum and cotton candy. Officials pointed to a significant increase of e-cigarettes by young people, which they said was driven by the flavors. At the Jubilee Vape & Smoke Inc. shop in downtown Manhattan, manager Inam Rehman and coworkers spent Monday morning trying to parse the governor's plans, holding off ordering more of the vaping products that make up over 35 percent of their business, and fielding questions from patrons. "We've been calling people and trying to figure out you know whether or not we should order anything this morning or you know what to do, Rehman said, "so we haven't ordered anything yet because you know there's sort of confusion going on." He wasn't entirely surprised that officials aimed to take action, but he thought there should be studies, public hearings and legislation, rather than the governor's proposed emergency regulation. It could take effect in as little as two weeks if a state health council approves. According to data from the state health department, nearly 40% of high school seniors and 27% of high school students overall in the state use e-cigarettes. High school use went from 10.5% in 2014 to 27.4% in 2018. Nationwide, the 2019 National Youth Tobacco Survey showed traditional cigarette usage continuing to fall for students in 6th to 12th grade but vaping continuing to surge higher. The ban would not impact tobacco- and menthol-flavored e-cigarettes, but Cuomo said the Department of Health would continue evaluating and that could change. Not including menthol brought criticism for Cuomo from some quarters. Ashif Lakhani, who was minding his brother's smoke-and-vape shop says news of the ban was a "bit serious shock." Lakhani said the owners don't yet know what will become of their inventory. "The wholesalers or retailers are not gonna take it from us. They're not gonna take it back,"  Lakhani said, 'neither the company is gonna take it back so it would be our loss. Hundred percent." Cuomo signed legislation earlier this year raising the statewide smoking age to 21, and earlier this month signed a mandate that requires state anti-tobacco campaigns to also include vaping. Vaping is also under a federal spotlight , as health authorities look into hundreds of breathing illnesses reported in people who have used e-cigarettes and other vaping devices. In his first public comments on vaping, President Donald Trump proposed a similar federal ban last week. The FDA has been able to ban vaping flavors since 2016, but hasn't taken the step, with officials looking into whether flavors could help cigarette smokers to quit. The global market is estimated to have a value of as much as $11 billion. The industry has spent a lot of money in states around the country to lobby against state-level flavored e-cigarette bans, in states including Hawaii, California, Maine and Connecticut. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...