Health officials recently criticized Michigan’s new e-cigarette ban.

According to the News-Review, the Act became law amidst concerns over e-cigarette addiction rates. The Michigan governor signed the bipartisan legislation as a result of concerns over e-cigarette use by minors.

According to another West Michigan news source, the new law prohibits retailers from selling any form of an alternative nicotine product or vapor product to someone under the age of 18. In addition, the sale of e-cigarette or vapor products to minors will come with potential penalties for those who are caught.

The state’s Department of Health and Human Services reportedly argued against the proposal, stating that it specifically treated e-cigarettes differently than traditional tobacco.

Other people arguing against the law claimed that an alternative approach could have been more effective in addressing the high potential addiction rates associated with teenage users of vaping products. Certain vape products such as the Juul e-cigarette have extremely high levels of nicotine inside the product which make it more likely that a teen could suffer from nicotine addiction or nicotine related seizures.

The opponents of the law reportedly argue that extending the state’s restrictions on other forms of tobacco products could have also incorporated e-cigarettes. The Michigan Governor and other safety advocates around the country have argued that the popular use of e-cigarettes has become a public health crisis. High school and middle school students have increasingly turned to e-cigarettes due to the availability of certain kinds of flavors and believe that there might be safer than traditional cigarettes.

Basics of Michigan’s Law

The Federal Food and Drug Administration has already taken action to ban sales of e-cigarettes to anyone under the age of 18, but Michigan’s new law was important because previously it was one of only two states in the country that did not have their own restrictions.

Some believe that the e-cigarette addiction problem has reached epidemic levels and new concerns about whether or not someone could suffer from seizures and other significant side effects have prompted more thorough reviews of e-cigarette sales.

Risks of Using E-Cigarettes for Teens

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the majority of teens are under the impression that their e-cigarette only contains flavoring, which means that the fastest-growing section of the market for e-cig use is not truly aware of the risks inside these devices.

In total, seven out of ten teens have reportedly seen some sort of advertising for vaporized e-cig products. Teens are also more likely to turn to e-cigs than traditional cigarettes, many of them under the impression that an e-cig is safer.

Nicotine, in general, presents a risk for teen users, who are still in development. Nicotine can reportedly harm the developmental processes of teen brains, and the high levels of nicotine in e-cig products can be especially damaging. E-cigarette addiction can form quickly.

According to the CDC, these high levels of nicotine could even lead to quick e-cigarette addiction rates or symptoms of nicotine poisoning. Furthermore, these products can even contain other ingredients that could be harmful to users of all ages.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.