Mayor de Blasio targeted 22 online e-cig retailers for selling to underage kids recently, naming them in a lawsuit announced one day after the state reported that a 17-year-old was the first New Yorker to die of vaping-related illness.
The teen died at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx, Cuomo said, and state health officials are investigating details of the case.
It is New York's first vaping-related death since a rash of lung illnesses connected to vaping swept the nation in recent months, Cuomo said. It also appears to be the youngest of 19 people killed by the rapidly growing outbreak, according to federal data.
Of the vaping deaths across the country, the median age was nearly 50 and cases ranged from age 27 to 71, but the majority of illnesses have been among young people, CDC data show.
As of Oct. 8, the state health department had received 110 reports from New York doctors of severe pulmonary illness among patients ranging from 14 to 69 years of age who were using at least one vape product prior to becoming ill.
The suit filed by City Hall charged that many of the sites did not use age verification services. Many purchases went through even though buyers indicated that they were younger than 21. The suit was the result of a two-month investigation by the city Sheriff’s Office and Law Department involving a series of “test purchases.”
“The kids of New York are the pride of our city, but to these companies, they’re just a source of profit. Preying on minors and hooking them on a potentially lethal, lifelong nicotine addiction is unconscionable,” de Blasio said. “This lawsuit sends a message: we will do whatever it takes to protect our kids and the health of our city.”
The suit notes that e-cigarette use increased nationwide from 220,000 high school students in 2011 to more than 3 million in 2018. In 2017, one in six public high school students in the city reported having smoked e-cigarettes in the last month. That number is expected to have risen. A new national survey showed that 27.5% of high school students are current e-cig smokers.Those trends are the result of marketing aimed squarely at young people, according to the suit that names companies in Nevada, Florida, North Carolina and elsewhere. The Texas-based Artisan Vapor, for example “solicits new vapers, including young people, with misinformation,” the suit says.
“Whether you are a beginner, intermediate or professional level vaper, once you get a hang of vaping — it becomes impossible to not vape. The reasons are simple; the flavors are addictive, vaping competitions are so cool and vaping poses no harm to your health.” Artisan Vapor’s website reads.
“In simpler words, vaping is absolutely safe and healthy for you.”
Another company named in the suit, the California-based Humble Juice Co., posted photos on its Instagram account of “Vape Tricks” in which a smoker double-fists vape pens and blows colorful clouds, the suit shows.
Gregory Conley, the president of the American Vaping Association, said many vaping companies fail to realize cities are raising the ages for nicotine purchases to 21, sometimes ahead of states.“Any online sales company that violates New York City’s tobacco laws should be subject to the same penalties as a business that violates the law within New York City. The excessive penalties the City is aiming for are the type they would never seek against a business owner in the Bronx for selling a pack of Marlboros to a 20-year-old,” Conley said.
Then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed legislation in 2013, raising the age to 21 for tobacco purchases in the city. Gov. Cuomo imposed the same standards state-wide in July.
On Tuesday, Gov. Cuomo announced a Bronx teen had become the first in the state to die of a vaping-related illness. According to the Department of Health, the teen was previously hospitalized in early September with a vaping-associated respiratory illness. He was readmitted in late September and died Oct. 4 at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx.
Nearly 20 people around the country have reportedly died from illnesses linked to e-cigs.“This vaping is a public health crisis,” Cuomo said. "It is affecting our young people. It has been marketed to young people. The federal government should act. The president talked about taking action. I don’t know how many more people have to die before he takes action.”
With more and more reports of people becoming ill or dying from vape related illness, the time is now for the City to act.
NYDN Article:
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-city-hall-e-cig-suit-20191009-ek2hmr65lna3fanpddzcepixni-story.html