NEW YORK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th November, 2019) The New York City Council by an overwhelming margin approved a measure to ban the sale of all flavored e-cigarettes, a prime sponsor of the bill said.
"In the face of intense resistance from Big Tobacco and their allies, @NYCCouncil just voted, 42-2, to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes," councilmember and health committee chair Mark Levine said in a twitter post after the measure was approved on Tuesday.
The vote comes as President Donald Trump faces criticism for walking-back on a planned Federal ban of the product.
According to text of the legislation, the bill would ban the sale of flavored electronic cigarettes and flavored e-liquids in New York City, including mint, menthol and wintergreen. The bill also calls for conducting outreach regarding the availability of smoking cessation services.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has publicly expressed support for this type of regulation, is likely to either sign the measure or let it pass into law, according to CNBC.
Trump said last Friday his administration was weighing a minimum 21-year age limit for the sale of e-cigarette products after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported nearly 2,300 cases of lung injuries and 47 deaths from vaping through November 20. The CDC said those killed by vaping-related lung injuries were as young as 17 years old.
Trump had defended his decision to propose an age limit on vaping products rather than an outright ban by saying e-cigarettes would become illegally available if he outlawed them.
