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Vape shop owners protest ban by Governor Cuomo

Vape shop owners say ban will hurt small businesses.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Protests are popping up around the state in response to a recent executive order from Governor Cuomo, including here in Buffalo.

More than 20 people gathered downtown Tuesday morning, including owners of local vaping shops. They told 2 On Your Side the recent illnesses connected to e-cigarettes are due to illegal vaping products and have nothing to do with the flavored products sold in their stores. 

WEB EXTRA: New York State announces executive action to ban sale of flavored electronic cigarettes. 

"This puts hundreds of businesses all across New York State at risk including mine. We will all be forced to close immediately because the fact is 80 to 90 percent of the products we sell that our consumers need to stay away from smoking cigarettes are flavored products", Andrew Osborne told 2 On Your Side. 

Osborne is the vice president of the New York State Vapor Association which represents 700 vapor product businesses across the state. Osborne and the other protestors say they're demonstrating because Governor Cuomo's ban will have an adverse effect on their businesses. They believe the ban will force them to lose money and eventually close their shops. 

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