“There’s a large group of well-intended public health experts who regard e-cigarettes as a huge public health problem,” he said. “And I think they have been opportunistic on seizing on this illness to ban all of these products without giving thought to the broader implications.”

The rush of activity comes after years of efforts by health groups like the American Lung Association to restrict the availability of e-cigarette products. Those efforts have suddenly gained momentum amid announcements about the series of lung-related deaths and illnesses that the authorities have tied to vaping.

During the past few weeks, state and local officials have repeatedly stepped into a rising public debate over vaping. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York and Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago have called for bans on flavored e-cigarettes. This month, Michael R. Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City, announced a $160 million campaign to ban flavored e-cigarettes in at least 20 cities and states. On Monday, California announced a public service effort to warn of the dangers of vaping, and on Tuesday, a New York health panel voted to prohibit the sale of flavored e-cigarettes in the state.

Though the cause of the illness is not yet known, investigators for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have warned that a significant number of the sick patients used vaping liquid that contained a chemical called vitamin E acetate and THC, a psychoactive chemical derived from marijuana.

Studies show that young people’s use of e-cigarettes has escalated in recent years, with more than one in four youths between the ages of 12 and 17 saying that they recently used an e-cigarette.

“The fact that you have that number of kids is just unacceptable,” said Erika Sward, assistant vice president for national advocacy for the American Lung Association. “And that is directly related to the flavors.”

Advocates for placing limits on e-cigarette sales say they intend to use strategies they gleaned from battles with the tobacco industry beginning in the 1980s.