ALBANY -- In hopes of killing a proposed county ban on flavored e-cigarettes, vaping advocates rallied at the Albany County Courthouse on Tuesday with a message that vaping saves lives.

The New York State Vapor Association as well as former smokers and owners of vape shops spoke out at a press conference and a public hearing, insisting that vaping helps cigarette smokers quit tobacco and that taking away their flavors will destroy the effectiveness of e-cigarettes, thus their usefulness.

"Our main cause is to help people break free from smoking," said Vic Canastraro, executive director of the Coalition for a Tobacco Free America. "One out of two people die from using tobacco products. Vaping is more effective than other tobacco replacement products in helping people quit."

He stood behind a crowd outside of the courthouse with advocates holding up signs reading "We Vape, We Vote" and "Fight for Flavors" and "Flavors Save Lives."

But as the public hearing revealed, not everyone believes this to be the case. Some complain that the flavors -- including cinnamon, vanilla, buttered popcorn, sticky buns and mint -- are attracting teens.

Julie Hart, government relations director at the American Cancer Society, said the proposed legislation should go forward.

"We have seen a slight decline in our state adult smoking rate," Hart said. "But what we have seen is 27 percent of New York State high school students are using e-cigarettes. That's not surprising when we have flavors like unicorn poop. Those are not marketed to adults. They are marketed to kids to start using the product."

Most of the nearly 50 speakers at the public hearing said that they could have never quit if they didn't have flavored e-cigarettes. Others said that their small businesses would suffer without flavored e-cigarettes, and that banning the flavors in Albany County would simply send those who vape to neighboring counties or online to buy the product. Another speaker said that banning flavors is ridiculous because cigarettes, cigars and pipe tobacco are flavored too.

While many claimed that e-cigarettes were the answer to breaking their smoking addiction, the National Institute for Drug Abuse noted that e-cigarettes often have the opposite effect on youth. It claims that 30.7 percent of teen e-cigarette users start smoking traditional cigarettes within six months. The Food and Drug Administration also found that more than 3.6 million kids vaped in 2018 and said a flavoring was a reason for use.

Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping Association, argued that his organization is concerned for young people who are vaping too.

"We ... want to be part of the solution, but punishing adults is not the answer," he told the council.

- By Wendy Liberatore, Times Union, Albany, N.Y.