TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Vaping poses a health threat and New Jersey should move to ban flavored e-cigarettes, Gov. Phil Murphy and his administration said Thursday, announcing the findings of a task force examining a recent nationwide outbreak associated with more than a dozen deaths.
Murphy, a Democrat, unveiled the task force’s recommendations three weeks after he established it and soon after the state announced its first death associated with vaping.
Most of the recommendations, including banning the sales of flavored e-cigarettes, will require legislation, he said.
Across the country, more than a dozen people have died from and hundreds have reported illnesses associated with vaping, though the cause is unclear.
“Our overriding conclusion is that electronic smoking devices pose a threat to public health particularly the health and wellbeing of our youth,” acting New Jersey Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said.
Other states and federal officials are also pushing through flavor restrictions designed to curb underage vaping.
No major e-cigarette company has been directly tied to the ailments, and federal investigators say most people affected by the lung problems report that they had vaped THC, the ingredient in marijuana that produces a high.
Among the other changes that Murphy is calling for include barring the online sale of e-cigarettes and vaping supplies as well as increasing penalties for retailers who knowingly sell to underage buyers.
Democratic Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin called the governor’s plan “comprehensive and thorough,” and said he’d work to craft legislation.
Democratic Senate President Steve Sweeney has called for a full ban on vaping. A message was left with his office on Murphy’s proposals.
Persichilli said among the things the state can do without legislation would be increasing the number of inspectors who go into vape shops to ensure that laws are being followed. She said the number would go up from eight inspectors currently to 20.
In New Jersey, there are 32 reports under investigation and 14 confirmed or probable cases of illness tied to vaping, according to the health commissioner.
The median age of those affected is 20, with ages going from 15 to 51.
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