An effort to bar the state from banning flavored tobacco used in e-cigarettes was denied by a judge late last week, a development that public health advocates say is a good sign the provision will ultimately be upheld.

“We're optimistic the state will prevail,” said NYPIRG Legislative Director Blair Horner. “This is a public health crisis. The state has to intervene.”

Governor Andrew Cuomo in September moved to ban flavored tobacco products used in vaping and other e-cigarettes amid illnesses believed to be linked to vaping. The move is meant to curtail the usage especially among young people. Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group said the ban makes sense.

“We've seen in the data where there has been a huge spike in usage among young people and this can easily end up being a lifelong addiction,” said Horner.

The governor's office last week took another step on the issue, adding menthol flavored tobacco in e-cigarettes to the ban, a development applauded by Caitlin O'Brien, the government relations director at the American Heart Association.

“There was a lot of outpouring from public health organizations like ours that came out and showed them the facts and said this is not OK,” said O’Brien.

O'Brien says she wants to see the federal government take action on the issue as well, but she's concerned regulators at the national level are moving too slow.

It should be done at the federal level. We need really strong support from the FDA here. We need to see them act. But in the meantime, we'll settle for the state acting.

The vaping industry says New York's push against e-cigarettes could cost thousands of jobs in the state.