At a press conference about public transit Tuesday, Gov. Cuomo made some unrelated news:

"We had the first vaping death in the state of New York: a 17-year-old resident of the Bronx," the governor said.

Sources said the individual died on October 4 after being taken to Montefiore Medical Center. The individual, whose name was not yet released by the evening, was believed to be vaping marijuana, which is illegal.

But after reaching out to the New York City Medical Examiner, we were referred to a City Hall spokesperson who told us the cause of death was not yet determined, which contradicted Cuomo.

In a statement, the spokesperson said, "The city is investigating the case in question but no official determination has been made at this time."

 

110 people in New York state have experienced respiratory illness, all related to vaping marijuana.

Nevertheless, last month, Cuomo took emergency action with a little-known public health panel, and banned all flavored e-cigarettes in response to people getting sick.

"This vaping is a public health crisis. It is affecting our young people. It has been marketed to young people," Cuomo said. "The federal government should act. The president had talked about taking action. I don't know how many people have to die before he takes action."

But critics say it isn't the flavored nicotine products that are causing harm.

"I honestly believe that if the government and the news had done a better job telling people what it was that was harming people, that person wouldn't have died," said Spike Babaian of Vape NY.

This month, a federal judge blocked the ban on flavored e-cigarettes with a temporary stay.

The challenge to the ban on e-cigarettes will make its way through the courts. In the meantime, proponents of a statewide ban say they intend to proceed legislatively to make it law. The earliest the legislature could take up a ban is January, when lawmakers are back in session.

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