2 More New Yorkers Die Of Vaping-Related Illnesses, Making 4 Statewide
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Two more New Yorkers have died of vaping-related illnesses, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday.
That brings the state's total of vaping-related deaths to four.
Cuomo said the latest victims were a woman in her 20s from New York City and another woman in her 50s from Ontario County.
"These deaths are tragic — and they are also preventable. We know smoking and nicotine are dangerous, and it's becoming tragically clearer by the day that vaping is too," the governor said in a statement.
A 17-year-old boy from the Bronx was the state's first victim last October, followed by a man in his 20s from Manhattan in November.
"State DOH and its Wadsworth Center Laboratory are doing groundbreaking work getting to the bottom of this unacceptable situation and we will continue using every tool at our disposal until these illnesses and deaths stop," Cuomo's statement continued. "In the meantime our message on vaping remains unchanged: if you don't know what you're smoking, don't smoke it."
The governor called for a ban on flavored e-cigarettes during his State of the State address last week.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said as of Jan. 14, 60 people died of vaping-related illnesses in 27 states and the District of Columbia.
