LANSING, Mich. — Michigan's new law banning the sale of e-cigarettes to minors isn't good enough, according to pediatricians.
They said Senate Bills 106 and 155 don't do enough to protect children from nicotine addiction.
Whitmer OK'd the bills Tuesday.
Jared Burkhart, executive director of the Michigan Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (MIAAP) and Bree Anderson, grassroots manager of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) said they wished the bills were more comprehensive and included more restraints to curb e-cigarette use.
The new law clarifies it's illegal to sell e-cigarettes and other non-traditional nicotine products to juveniles, but Anderson said the bill should've been strengthened by putting e-cigarettes into the same category as tobacco products.
"As a result of these not being defined as tobacco products, they're going to be strictly sales taxed. It's a major missed opportunity regarding revenue as well as a disincentive for youth or anyone else buying these products," she said.
Anderson also said that e-cigs should be added to the state's smoke-free law so they'll be illegal to use in restaurants and other public spaces.
Ethan Parks who does sales at Exscape Smoke Shop and Vapor Lounge in East Lansing disagrees that e-cigs should be in the same class as tobacco.
"There's nicotine in both, but it's not a tobacco product. It's not something we import like cigarettes or cigars. It's not something that's as dangerous," he said. "It's curbing an addiction that you're trying to lose, instead of giving you an addiction that you're trying to obtain."
Even though Anderson said there were missed opportunities, she's optimistic her group and others can work with Governor Whitmer.
While signing the law, Whitmer said it was a mistake to not separate e-cigarettes from tobacco products, but she said she signed the law despite that because she wants to do something to stop the growing use of e-cigarettes by middle and high school students.
ACS CAN is American Cancer Society's nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate.
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