LANSING, Mich. - Gov. Gretchen Whitmer today signed Bills 106 and 155 which clarify that it's illegal to sell e-cigarettes and other non-traditional products to minors.
In her signing message to the Legislature, Whitmer criticized the legislation for not going far enough to protect Michigan's youth from nicotine addiction, calling it "a mistake" to separate e-cigarettes from the Youth Tobacco Act's definition of "tobacco products."
"This is an important step in protecting public health and keeping tobacco products out of the hands of our kids, but we have to keep working to ensure that minors don’t have access to any tobacco products, including harmful e-cigarettes,” said Whitmer. “That includes raising the legal age for purchasing these products to 21, curtailing internet sales of e-cigarettes, and banning the marketing of all tobacco products to children. I’m ready to keep working with the legislature to make sure we’re doing everything we can to protect our kids and our public health.”
In 2018, 21% of American high school students and 5% of middle school students -- children as young as 12 years old -- have reported using e-cigarettes or other vape products in the last 30 days. E-cigarette sales increased by 78% from 2017 to 2018.
Whitmer announced she is also asking the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to marshal the most recent science to provide recommendations on how Michigan should regulate e-cigarettes and similar products going forward.
Bills 106 and 155 passed in the Michigan Senate on April 23 and the Michigan House on May 15.
RELATED VIDEO:
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter.