N.Y. bans sale of flavored e-cigarette products

The sale of flavored e-cigarettes has been banned in New York State, effective immediately.

The N.Y. Public Health and Health Planning Council yesterday approved emergency regulations requested by the governor which ban the sale of flavored electronic cigarettes and nicotine e-liquids, other than menthol-favored products. The state health commissioner is considering a ban on menthol-favored products as well and will make a recommendation on those within two weeks, the governor’s office said yesterday.

New York is the first state in the nation to implement a ban on the sale of flavored electronic cigarettes and nicotine e-liquids.

The ban is the latest in a series of actions to combat the increase in young people using vape products, largely as a result of e-cigarette companies marketing flavors that are intended to get children addicted to nicotine, the governor said.

“It is undeniable that vaping companies are deliberately using flavors like bubblegum, Captain Crunch and cotton candy to get young people hooked on e-cigarettes – it’s a public health crisis and it ends today,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said yesterday.

Cuomo on Sunday directed the Department of Health to convene an emergency meeting of public health council to consider the ban. He also directed state police and the health department to immediately partner to ramp up enforcement efforts against retailers who sell to underage youth, with the possibility of criminal penalties. Cuomo also announced he will advance legislation to ban deceptive marketing of e-cigarettes to teens and children.

“While we are currently seeing record lows in adolescent tobacco use, the opposite is true for Electronic Nicotine Delivery System (ENDS) products, which can contain up to 20 times the amount of nicotine as regular cigarettes,” said Felicia Scocozza, executive director of the Riverhead Community Awareness Program.

“Flavors like mango, fruit and cotton candy are especially appealing to youth. The flavors get them to try it, but the nicotine gets them addicted,” Scocozza said.

“Nicotine is a is a highly addictive substance, especially for adolescents, whose brains are still developing until about age 25. It causes changes in the brain and its reward system,” she said.

State health officials say flavors are largely responsible for the dramatic increase in use of e-cigarettes by youth and are a principal reason that youth initiate and maintain e-cigarette use. Statewide, nearly 40 percent of 12th grade students and 27 percent of high school students are now using e-cigarettes, according to N.Y. State Department of Health data. High school use in 2018 (27.4%) is 160 percent higher than it was in 2014 (10.5%). While New York’s high school student smoking rate dropped from 27.1% in 2000 to a record low of 4.3% in 2016, aggressive marketing strategies promoting flavored e-cigarettes is primed to turn that trend.

Scocozza said young people who use ENDS are more likely to use cigarettes in the future. “So we need to watch for that switch as youth are unable to access flavored vape,” she said.

In a 2017 survey of 15 to 17 year-old adolescents in New York State currently using electronic vapor products, 19% of the adolescents said that flavors were the reason that they first tried an e-cigarette and 27% said flavors were the reason for maintaining use, according to the health department. Studies also show nearly 78% of high school students and 75% of middle school students report being exposed to pro-tobacco marketing in 2016. Legislation will be advanced next session to prevent these deceptive and misleading advertisements to target our youth, Cuomo said.

Scocozza said it is unclear whether the state ban applies to interstate purchase. “Our research has shown that many adolescents are able to easily purchase ENDS products online (by using gift cards for example), then resell them to their peers,” she said.

The ban will also not likely affect youth who illegally use marijuana in their ENDS, Scocozza said. “Finally, there is also the risk of an increase of counterfeit pods, which may be linked to the recent health crisis. We will need to keep an eye on the issues as we move forward,” Scocozza noted.

Riverhead CAP has added vaping prevention lessons to its Pulaski Street School program, and the Riverhead Youth Coalition has been working on strategies to reduce youth access to vape products, Scocozza said.

The Department of Health will provide retailers with an approximate two-week grace period before conducting visits to enforce the flavoring ban beginning on Monday, Oct. 4. Local health departments and the department’s district offices, with state oversight, will handle enforcement. Retailers who violate the ban will face fines of up to $2,000 per violation, which is defined as each unit of flavored e-liquid or product containing e-liquid that is possessed, manufactured, sold or offered for sale.

This article was updated at 9:12 a.m.