Emergency flavor ban

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo of New York will pursue emergency regulations this week to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes, reports The New York Times. Tobacco-flavored and menthol-flavored products would not be covered by the ban, the governor said, noting that menthol products could assist in helping people to stop smoking traditional cigarettes.

If New York outlaws flavored e-cigarettes, it would become the second state to move toward such a ban following Michigan, which announced earlier this month that it would prohibit such products.

Cuomo’s action comes days after President Trump announced an effort to ban similar vapor products at the federal level.

Health officials around the U.S. have been grappling with an outbreak of a severe lung disease linked to vaping. At least six deaths and hundreds of hospitalizations have been reported.

New York state has had 64 cases of the lung disease linked to vaping.

Though the specific substance or product causing the vaping illnesses remains unclear, the New York State Department of Health has linked many cases of the illness to cannabis products that contain high levels of vitamin E acetate, a thickening agent for vaping liquid.