Michigan Looks to Ban Flavored Tobacco Sales, Curbing Youth Vaping Epidemic
Matthew Ma
A legislative package in Michigan aims to ban all flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes and flavored vapes that critics say attract teens and lead to lifelong nicotine addiction.
Sponsored by Senator John Cherry (D-MI), the bills would prohibit retail sales of flavored e-cigarettes, menthol cigarettes, flavored cigars and chew tobacco in the state. The proposed laws also call for licensing tobacco retailers and taxing vaping products.
“Flavors are hooking Michigan kids on tobacco,” said Cherry. “By ending the sale of candy-flavored vapes and menthol cigarettes, we can curb youth tobacco use and save lives.”
According to the CDC’s 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey, over 2.1 million middle and high school students currently use e-cigarettes. A shocking 88% reported using flavored varieties like sour apple and cotton candy.
These sweet and fruity flavors can mask the natural harshness of nicotine, leading more adolescents to vape, health experts say. Enticing flavors combined with discreet, tech-inspired device designs also make vapes incredibly appealing to teens.
Because adolescent brains are still developing, nicotine exposure can severely impact learning, memory, attention and mental health. The FDA warns that teenage vaping may also lead to mood disorders and lifelong tobacco dependence.
“Addiction to nicotine in adolescence sets up a lifetime of addiction to conventional cigarettes,” said Dr. Lee Norman, Chief Medical Officer at the University of Kansas Health System. “Vaping clearly reverses decades of progress we’ve made in combating teen smoking.”
If passed, the proposed Michigan laws will join other state and national efforts to keep nicotine products away from youth. In 2020, the federal government banned the sale of most flavored vaping products. And today, over 200 localities prohibit retail sales of flavored tobacco.
"State flavor bans work,” said Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “Wherever these policies exist, we have seen dramatic declines in youth tobacco use.”