Nassau Lawmakers Pass Ban On Most Flavored Vape Products

MINEOLA, NY — Nassau County lawmakers voted Monday to pass legislation outlawing the sale of most flavored e-cigarette and vaping products. The legislation had been proposed by Democratic Legislator Arnie Drucker of Plainview, whose office called the vote a long-awaited and major public health victory for young people.

Laura Curran, the county executive, said she would sign the bill, which will ban the sale of flavored vaping products except for those that are tobacco, mint or menthol flavored. The ban will take effect Jan. 1.

"I commend the County Legislature for their passage of a ban on the sale of flavored vaping products in Nassau County by a vote of 18-0," Curran said in a statement Tuesday.

She said the "alarming rise" in e-cigarette use among young people is directly linked to tobacco companies that target kids with flavors like bubblegum, mango and cotton candy.

Drucker said it is lawmakers' duty to take decisive action to protect residents' health and well-being.

"It is clear to me that vape manufacturers cynically leverage cotton-candy, blueberry and cookie-flavored vapes as tools for hooking unsuspecting young people on nicotine," he said.

The legislation comes amid a nationwide investigation into a mysterious vaping-related illness that has sickened 2,290 people nationwide and led to 47 deaths across 25 states and the District of Columbia, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. State and federal health officials have homed in on vitamin E acetate, an additive in some THC-containing vape products, as the source for many of the illnesses.

The vitamin is found in many foods such as vegetable oils, cereals, meat, fruits and vegetables, and is also widely available as a dietary supplement and in cosmetic products, like skin creams. While it typically isn't toxic when taken as a vitamin or skin cream applied to the skin, research suggests that when it is inhaled, it could impact the lungs.