UPDATE 1-California governor acts to confront 'epidemic' of youth vaping

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday ordered the launch of a $20 million statewide public awareness campaign to educate young people and parents about health risks associated with vaping of nicotine and cannabis products, which he called a "youth epidemic."

An executive order the Democratic governor signed also directs state agencies to devise plans to remove illegal and counterfeit vaping products from sale and recommendations for health warnings that retailers and advertisers of vaping products would be required to post. Newsom also signed legislation tightening age verification requirements for the sale of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.

The moves by the governor of the most populous U.S. state came a day after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said his state's health commissioner would formally ban flavored e-cigarettes besides tobacco and menthol at an emergency meeting later this week. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot also said on Monday she was leading a move to ban the sale of flavored vaping and tobacco products in the third-largest U.S. city.

At a news conference in the state capital, Sacramento, to announce efforts in California to curb vaping by young people, Newsom urged state legislators to send him a bill to ban flavored e-cigarettes but said he lacked authority to impose such a restriction by executive action. "We must take immediate action to meet the urgency behind this public health crisis and youth epidemic," Newsom said.

 

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)