NEW YORK — Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Sunday that he will push legislation in 2020 banning all flavored nicotine products and advertisements aimed at kids.
As a means to stop kids and teens from using tobacco and vaping products, legislation would ban the sale of all flavored nicotine vaping products, including menthol.
It would also restrict vaping related advertisements across all media platforms, banning ads targeted toward youth. Advertisers will need U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to make vaping product safety claims or to pitch vaping products and alternatives to cigarettes.
"Vaping is a public health crisis, claiming too many lives and making countless others sick in a short period of time," Cuomo said in a statement. "The problem is made worse by unscrupulous vaping companies who are targeting young people with candy flavored products, like cotton candy and bubble gum, and other marketing ploys.
"While the federal administration continues its empty rhetoric on an issue impacting more than a quarter of all high school students, in New York we're using every tool at our disposal to keep help children safe and stop them from forming an unhealthy and potentially deadly lifelong addiction."
This legislation would also allow the Department of Health to ban the sale of vaping carrier oils, which include chemicals or ingredients that are deemed dangerous.
Cuomo will also advance legislation on limiting the sale of vaping products online. This legislation would restrict online purchases, only allowing registered retailers to purchase e-cigarettes online.