In June, San Francisco became the first major city in the country to ban the sales of e-cigarettes. This week, Michigan took it a step further and banned the devices across the entire state.
“As governor, my number one priority is keeping our kids safe and protecting the health of the people of Michigan,” said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer about the e-cigarette ban.
“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.”
The decision from Whitmer will ban the sale of flavored vaping products in stores and online.
A spokeswoman for Gov. Whitmer indicated that the new rules will be put in place over the next few weeks and businesses would then have a month to adjust.
This decision comes after a number of stories have shown that vaping and e-cigarettes can lead to certain health consequences such as lung damage.
The first cases of people being hospitalized and treated for severe lung damage occurred in July and the number of hospitalizations has only continued to grow.
One case this week led to the death of one individual who had “severe respiratory illness” after using an e-cigarette. Symptoms of the disease include coughing, shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea, vomiting, and more.
There are a couple hundred cases of e-cigarette-induced lung damage in dozens of other states across the country that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating. Many of these cases involve teens and young adults.
It is no secret that many teens and young adults use vapes and e-cigarettes. According to data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, over 16 percent of high school seniors use e-cigarettes at least once a month. Moreover, teenagers specifically are exposed to e-cigarette advertising, with 70 percent of teens saying that they see ads for the devices.
The use of e-cigarettes and vaping could just be the beginning of a path that leads to cigarette use, alcohol use, and potentially the use of illicit drugs.
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