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DENVER — Gov. John Hickenlooper announced a new executive order designed to curb teenage use of vapes and e-cigarettes in Colorado.

The governor spoke at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora at 1 p.m. Friday.

Hickenlooper said the order doubles the number of compliance checks on places selling vaping products to ensure no one under 18 years old is purchasing vapes and e-cigarettes.

The order also requires the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to issue a health advisory on e-cigarettes and vaping.

Additionally, the order bans vaping in state buildings.

Hickenlooper’s order also recommends the General Assembly raise the vaping age from 18 to 21 years old in January. It further recommends requiring Internet vendors to implement age verification measures. Finally, the order suggests the prohibition of flavored tobacco and vaping products statewide.

According to the CDPHE, teens vape at a higher rate in Colorado than any other state. A 2017 Healthy Kids Colorado Survey found about 40 percent of Colorado high school students have vaped, and about 27 percent say they’ve done it in the past 30 days.

Juul, a leading manufacturer of vaping products, sent the following statement to FOX31 and Channel 2:

“We support Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper’s call to raise the purchasing age for cigarettes, tobacco or vaping products to 21+. At JUUL Labs, we support 21+ legislation at the local, state and federal levels because we believe it will take industry and regulators working together to restrict youth access. Underage use is directly opposed to our mission of eliminating cigarettes by offering existing adult smokers a true alternative to combustible cigarettes. While we believe flavors play an important role in helping adult smokers switch to vapor technology, we also support reasonable regulation to restrict advertising and naming of inappropriate flavors such as cotton candy and gummy bear that are directed at children.”