New Jersey expected to announce
vaping restrictions within weeks
Send a link to a friend
[September 13, 2019]
By Gabriella Borter and Matthew Lavietes
(Reuters) - Within weeks, New Jersey could
become the latest state to restrict e-cigarette use, with the governor
on Thursday launching a task force to find ways to curb vaping, linked
by U.S. health officials to hundreds of respiratory illnesses and a
half-dozen deaths.
|
"As of this moment, there is no safe vape," Governor Phil Murphy
said at a media briefing, adding he was concerned about both teen
use and the recent illnesses. "The only safe alternative to smoking
is not smoking."
The task force, led by the New Jersey Department of Health, will
make recommendations in three weeks.
The announcement comes a day after the Trump administration proposed
a federal ban on the sale of flavored e-cigarette products to
discourage vaping, especially by minors, who gravitate toward the
sweeter varieties. The proposed ban would only allow the sale of
tobacco-flavored vapes.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2019/Sep/13/images/ads/current/lincolntheatre_sda_031016.png)
More than a quarter of U.S. high school students used e-cigarettes
in the past month, up from 20.8% of students last year, according to
preliminary data released by the Health and Human Services
Department on Wednesday.
Market leader Juul Labs Inc, which is 35% owned by Marlboro maker
Altria Group Inc, said this week the company has taken steps to
reduce its appeal among youth.
The American Vaping Association, which advocates for cigarette
smokers to switch to nicotine-based vaping devices, has blamed the
illnesses on vaping illicit THC products.
Earlier this week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed banning
flavored e-cigarettes, following a ban imposed in Michigan last
week. San Francisco took the ban one step further in June, banning
the sale of all e-cigarettes starting in 2020.
[to top of second column] |
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2019/Sep/13/images/ads/current/graue_19TRAX_082619.png)
E-cigarettes were introduced to the U.S. market more than a decade
ago as an alternative for cigarette-addicted adults.
Six deaths have been linked to vaping, and U.S. public health
officials are investigating 450 cases of potential vaping-related
lung illnesses across 33 states and one U.S. territory.
New Jersey has three confirmed cases of the mysterious lung illness
attributed to vaping and is investigating 19 others, Murphy said.
A nationwide investigation led by the federal Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has
not definitively linked the illnesses to any specific e-cigarette
product or ingredient. Even so, health officials have expressed
suspicions about the effect of inhaling vitamin E acetate, a
substance contained in some THC vaping products.
(Reporting by Gabriella Borter and Matthew Lavietes in New York;
Editing by Frank McGurty and Lisa Shumaker)
[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2019/Sep/13/images/ads/current/christian_village_sda_031616.png) |