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Two more vaping-related deaths in New York, total now up to four

Posted at 9:35 AM, Jan 17, 2020
and last updated 2020-01-17 09:42:50-05

NEW YORK (WKBW) — New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is speaking out following the third and fourth confirmed vaping-related deaths in the state of New York.

A woman in her twenties from the New York City area and a woman in her fifties from Ontario County have died from vaping-related illness.

"These deaths are tragic — and they are also preventable," said Cuomo. "We know smoking and nicotine are dangerous, and it's becoming tragically clearer by the day that vaping is too. 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.

"In the meantime our message on vaping remains unchanged: if you don't know what you're smoking, don't smoke it."

The deaths were confirmed in a release from the governor's office, stating the New York State Department of Health determined the two deaths were vaping-related after extensive review.

The other two vaping-related deaths were a 17-year-old from the Bronx who died in October 2019 and a man in his thirties from Manhattan who died in November 2019.