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Governor
Whitmer
takes
action
to
protect
Michigan
kids
from
harmful
effects
of
vaping
Michigan
becomes
first
state to
ban
flavored
nicotine
vaping
products
LANSING,
MI -
Today,
Governor
Gretchen
Whitmer
took
aggressive
action
to
protect
Michigan
kids
from the
harmful
effects
of
vaping.
These
actions
include
making
Michigan
the
first
state in
the
nation
to ban
flavored
nicotine
vaping
products.
After
her
Chief
Medical
Executive,
Dr.
Joneigh
Khaldun,
made a
finding
that
youth
vaping
constitutes
a public
health
emergency,
Governor
Whitmer
ordered
the
Michigan
Department
of
Health
and
Human
Services
to issue
emergency
rules to
ban the
sale of
flavored
nicotine
vaping
products
in
retail
stores
and
online,
and ban
misleading
marketing
of
vaping
products,
including
the use
of terms
like
“clean,”
“safe,”
and
“healthy”
that
perpetuate
beliefs
that
these
products
are
harmless.
The
governor
also
ordered
the
Michigan
Department
of
Transportation
to
enforce
an
existing
statute
to
prohibit
the
advertising
of vapor
products
on
billboards.
“As
governor,
my
number
one
priority
is
keeping
our kids
safe,”
said
Governor
Whitmer.
“And
right
now,
companies
selling
vaping
products
are
using
candy
flavors
to hook
children
on
nicotine
and
misleading
claims
to
promote
the
belief
that
these
products
are
safe.
That
ends
today.
Our kids
deserve
leaders
who are
going to
fight to
protect
them.
These
bold
steps
will
finally
put an
end to
these
irresponsible
and
deceptive
practices
and
protect
Michiganders’
public
health.”
“Governor
Whitmer
has
taken
bold and
appropriate
action
in
response
to the
epidemic
of youth
e-cigarette
use,”
said
Nancy
Brown,
CEO of
the
American
Heart
Association."
The
recent
outbreak
of
respiratory
illnesses
associated
with
e-cigarette
use has
added to
the
uncertainty
and
increased
the need
for
immediate
action.
What is
known is
nicotine
is
highly
addictive
and has
adverse
effects
on the
developing
brain,
and
flavors
strongly
appeal
to
youth.
Gov.
Whitmer’s
action
will
protect
Michiganders,
particularly
the
state’s
youth,
from the
known
and
unknown
potential
health
risks of
e-cigarette
use. We
urge the
FDA to
move
urgently
to
protect
public
health
and
exercise
strict
oversight
over all
e-cigarette
products.”
On
June 4
of this
year,
Governor
Whitmer
signed
Senate
Bills
106 and
155,
which
clarify
that it
is
illegal
to sell
e-cigarettes
and
other
non-traditional
nicotine
products
to
minors.
In her
signing
message
to the
Legislature,
Governor
Whitmer
criticized
the
legislation
for not
going
far
enough
to
protect
Michigan’s
kids
from
nicotine
addiction,
calling
the
marketing,
packaging,
and
taste of
e-cigarettes
a
“bait-and-switch”
engineered
to
“create
new
nicotine
addicts.”
“In
the past
few
years,
we’ve
seen an
explosive
increase
in the
number
of
Michigan
kids
exposed
to
vaping
products,”
said Dr.
Joneigh
Khaldun,
chief
medical
executive
for the
State of
Michigan
and
chief
deputy
director
for
health
at
MDHHS.
“This is
a public
health
crisis.
These
products
can
contain
harmful
chemicals
that put
our
kids’
health
at risk.
I’m
looking
forward
to
working
with
Governor
Whitmer
to
mitigate
these
effects
and keep
our kids
healthy.”
From
2017 to
2018,
e-cigarette
use
spiked
78%
among
high
school
students
and 48%
among
middle
school
students.
In 2018,
more
than 3.6
million
U.S.
kids,
including
1 in 5
high
school
students
and 1 in
20
middle
school
students
were
regular
users.
These
rates
are
still
climbing,
likely
fueled
by the
availability
of
flavors
akin to
apple
juice,
bubble
gum, and
Nerds.
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