'It's a public health crisis and it ends today': New York bans flavored e-cigarettes
New York state has banned the sale of flavored e-cigarettes amid growing national concern about the safety of the products.
The ban went into effect after being approved by the state's Public Health and Health Planning Council Tuesday afternoon.
New York is the first state to enact such a ban, although Michigan lawmakers have approved a similar ban but are working out details.
This comes days after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an emergency executive order banning the sale of flavored e-cigarettes.
"It is undeniable that vaping companies are deliberately using flavors like bubblegum, Captain Crunch and cotton candy to get young people hooked on e-cigarettes -- it's a public health crisis and it ends today," Cuomo said in a statement issued after the panel's decision.
"New York is not waiting for the federal government to act, and by banning flavored e-cigarettes we are safeguarding the public health and helping prevent countless young people from forming costly, unhealthy and potentially deadly life-long habits," he added.
The governor made his intentions known earlier, calling for people to stop smoking e-cigarettes until more is known about their ingredients after a number of hospitalizations and deaths in recent weeks.
At a news conference earlier this month, Cuomo said "common sense" would suggest that "if you don't know what you are smoking, don't smoke it, and right now we don't know."
ABC News' Julia Jacobo contributed to this report.
