BUFFALO (WBEN) - As it stands following a temporary order issued by a state court Thursday, New York State's emergency ban on flavored e-cigarette products is on hold for two weeks, but former County Executive Joel Giambra held a press conference at Perfection Vapes in Depew to again urge Governor Cuomo to reconsider this decision.
"The industry here in Buffalo, and around the state and country, is very anxious to sit down with government officials to figure out how best to keep this product out of the hands of younger people," said Giambra. "At the same time, we want to make sure that the adults have the right to choose a flavored product if they want such a product."
Jon Glauser is a co-owner of Demand Vape, who employs more than 200 people in Buffalo, and he's concerned that moving forward with this emergency ban could cost a lot in terms of economic benefit. Statewide, there's worry that stores such Perfection Vapes will be forced to lay off thousands of workers in the coming days.
"We service about 500 vape shops in New York State, and this is going to have a crippling effect, not only on them, but our business," said Glauser. "A lot of our employees rely on us to basically feed their family, make sure they have a house to live in."
Aside from the economic impact, those who have quit smoking regular cigarettes are also feeling uncomfortable about the ban.
"I'm a little panicked," said an emotional Amber Dascomb. "I'm 36 years old, and I started smoking when I was 12. I finally found something to help me not be dependent on tobacco that was making me sick, and now it's like I'm panicking. What am I going to do - smoke cigarettes again? I don't want to do that, so I came here today to get some juice to kind of hold me over for a while."
Dascomb explained her personal health effects that were evident once she made the switch from regular tobacco to e-cigarette devices.
"Within maybe a week and a half or so, I noticed that congested chest and cough that I had started going away," she began. "Maybe two weeks after I switched from cigarettes to vaping, I went on a hike, and I could breathe. I don't smell; I don't stink. Now, I smell cigarettes on other people, and it makes me nauseous. I don't want to smell like that, and I don't want to feel like that."
"The industry has gone in with a temporary restraining order trying to get the courts to get the governor to back off, so that there can be a hearing where we can present the facts, present the legal arguments that are necessary that we believe that this public health tribunal has exceeded its legislative authority," said Giambra. "It doesn't have the ability to do this without the legislature. We've made the arguments; we think they're solid arguments, and we're hoping that the courts will give us the relief we need, and we're just waiting for that decision to come."
Giambra also said that he is ready to fight this ban for a while.
"We're waiting to hear from the courts as to whether or not the government's ban is going to be stayed," he added. "We're optimistic; we're not sure what's going to happen, but we also want you to know that we are going to put a full-fledged campaign on if necessary to get the governor to understand the importance of this product."
Victor Canastraro is the owner of Perfection Vapes, and he believes that the vaping industry is being treated unfairly by legislative bodies, and he says that the industry wants to work with government to ensure their products stay out of the hands of young people, but that they need to work together as opposed to creating a deeper black market through prohibition.
"Let's look at reasonable legislation that can protect our children to ensure that this doesn't get into their hands," he said. "Work with us; don't kill an industry that's helping million upon millions of people to stay off of cigarettes - something that we know kills one of two users."