LOS ANGELES — Gov. Gavin Newsom of California announced on Monday that the state will ramp up its efforts to regulate electronic cigarettes — known as e-cigarettes or vapes — with new health-warning standards, a $20 million campaign to raise awareness about the products’ harmful health effects, and increased enforcement of counterfeit flavored products sold on the black market.

The move comes amid growing national concern over the dangers of electronic cigarettes, which heat liquids to produce an aerosol that is inhaled. The liquids often contain nicotine; some contain THC or CBD, which are derived from marijuana plants.

Nearly 400 cases of lung illnesses across 36 states have been linked to vaping, according to data issued last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At least six deaths have been linked to e-cigarette products in California, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota and Oregon.

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Political leaders at all levels of government have faced increased demands for action as the news of vaping-related illnesses has spread, and the federal government is considering a nationwide ban. But there is still little information about the cause of the illnesses. Government efforts to respond at the state and local level have been a patchwork effort, and it remains unclear how effective regulatory action will be.

On Monday in Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she would seek a citywide ban on all flavored e-cigarette products, pointing to the negative effects of nicotine on children. One alderman in Chicago went further, saying that he would introduce a measure to outlaw the sales of all e-cigarettes in the city.

In June, San Francisco became the first city in the country to ban the sale of e-cigarettes, citing the rising rates of nicotine addiction among teenagers.

As e-cigarettes have become more popular, so too have counterfeit products that are made in unregulated settings and are suspected to be behind many of the vaping-related illnesses. There has been at least one death in California linked to vaping, according to the governor’s office, along with 63 instances of respiratory ailments.

Mr. Newsom indicated he would have liked to go further in his actions against vaping products during remarks in Sacramento on Monday. But he said it did not appear he could instate an outright ban on e-cigarette products without legislative action.

“The fact is, they should be banned,” he said. “I would like to see that bill on my desk and I would like to sign a bill to eliminate the legal use of flavored e-cigarettes.”

Mr. Newsom also said his administration was investigating the extent to which it can raise taxes on e-cigarette products through executive authority, to bring the tax up to parity with traditional tobacco products. Nick Maduros, the director of the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, said he had been directed by the governor to seek a certification process for e-cigarette products similar to one for tobacco. (California does not regulate e-cigarettes the same way as traditional cigarettes and there is no certification process for products that are made safely.)

“In the absence of any substantive bills to sign in this space we believe it is appropriate for us to take executive action on this matter,” Mr. Newsom said. “We want to see how far we can go in this endeavor.”

“As a parent, I understand the anxiety caused by the deceptive marketing tactics and flavored options designed to target our kids,” Mr. Newsom added in a statement. “With mysterious lung illnesses and deaths on the rise, we have to educate our kids and do everything we can to tackle this crisis.”

In Washington State, health officials announced on Monday two new cases of severe lung disease linked to vaping products with symptoms matching what federal officials have described as common for cases around the country. The new cases, which involve one teenager and one patient in his or her 20s, are in addition to one the state had previously announced.

“This is now a statewide outbreak,” the state’s health officer, Kathy Lofy, said.

The state said it had not been able to identify a product, device or additive that links the three cases. It has been urging medical personnel to report any vaping-related lung disease hospitalizations to public health departments.

Last week, the Trump administration announced it intended to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes within the coming weeks. The Food and Drug Administration, which is taking the lead on outlining such a plan, according to Alex M. Azar II, the secretary of health and human services, said this month that Juul Labs, the best-known e-cigarette company in the country, had illegally marketed its products by claiming they were less harmful than traditional cigarettes.

Mr. Newsom, a Democrat, applauded the Trump administration’s announcement but said political leaders across the country should also pursue their own actions.

Several states have stepped in to install immediate bans.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan banned the sale of flavored e-cigarettes this month, and on Sunday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York said his administration intended to issue an emergency regulation that would ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. The ban in New York, which decided this summer to raise the minimum age to buy e-cigarettes to 21, would not affect the sale of tobacco or menthol-flavored products, according to Mr. Cuomo.

More than 80 percent of California high school students who use tobacco use e-cigarettes, according to data provided by the governor’s office, and nearly 90 percent of those students are using flavored products.

But while the dangers of e-cigarettes to public health have received attention in recent months, the products are seen by some as an important tool to help longtime adult smokers quit traditional cigarettes, said Dr. Steven A. Schroeder, a professor of health at the University of California, San Francisco.

Doing away with flavored e-liquids altogether would decrease the number of children who use them, but it may also push adults back to traditional cigarettes, he said.

“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.

“How do we get the sweet spot? How do we preserve e-cigarettes as a pathway to get adults to quit without increasing access to children?” he said. “It’s like shooting a moving target.”

Mike Baker and Julie Bosman contributed reporting.

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