After Deaths, Ban on Flavored Vapes to Be Passed by New York City – The New York Times

The new legislation, which is expected to be passed by the City Council on Tuesday, includes menthol-flavored products; the only vaping liquid that would be allowed for sale are tobacco-flavored products. The bill would then go to Mayor Bill de Blasio to sign.

The mayor supports it. We will either sign it or let it lapse into law, said Freddi Goldstein, Mr. de Blasios press secretary.

The Council, however, set aside a companion measure that would have banned the sale of menthol cigarettes amid concerted lobbying efforts and opposition from the Rev. Al Sharpton, whose nonprofit National Action Network has regularly taken five-figure contributions from the tobacco giant Reynolds American.

That legislation has come under attack from some civil rights activists who say that since menthol cigarettes are largely smoked by African-Americans, banning them would create an underground market that could lead to tragedies like the death of Eric Garner, a Staten Island man who died after a confrontation with police officers who accused him of selling loose cigarettes. Others have argued for a ban, citing health concerns.

Mr. Levine said there is still a strong commitment to the menthol ban.

Kirsten John Foy, a civil rights activist who was formerly a part of Mr. Sharptons organization, said that delaying a menthol cigarette ban was a capitulation to the tobacco industry.

The vaping industrys lobbying efforts have also been strenuous, if less successful. In 2019 alone, Juul paid more than $250,000 to lobbyists from five separate firms to lobby on its behalf in New York City, mostly related to the flavored e-cigarette bill, state filings show. (The company also paid to lobby against restrictions in Albany.)

The City Council speaker, Corey Johnson, who has shared on social media about his use of e-cigarettes to quit smoking cigarettes, proudly supports the vaping legislation, said his spokeswoman Jennifer Fermino, and is meeting with stakeholders to find a compromise on the menthol ban.

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After Deaths, Ban on Flavored Vapes to Be Passed by New York City - The New York Times

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