Tobacco control and prevention at Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) focuses on increasing awareness of the adverse health effects of tobacco use in youth. MDHHS Tobacco Section aims to increase evidence-based resources to help facilitate supportive and affirming quit care, prevent initiation, and eliminate exposure to second-and-thirdhand vaping aerosol. The Tobacco Section can provide technical assistance, training, resources, and data to support your efforts addressing vaping and other forms of tobacco use. The Tobacco Section also supports community organizations who are working with your schools to address the challenges of youth addicted to nicotine and vaping in schools.
The commercial tobacco industry harms youth by developing and advancing their e-cigarette devices to allure youth with flavors and marketing geared toward youth. Some vaping devices are designed to mimic smartphones and to addict youth to nicotine as well as to gaming and screen time.1 These devices or “smart vapes” have various features similar to smartphones like games, photo wallpapers, LED high-definition touchscreens, and Bluetooth connectivity to increase use among youth.1 Using new and emerging devices/products, thousands of flavors, and aggressive marketing, commercial tobacco companies increase youth initiation into addiction. Nicotine use affects youths’ physical, mental, and emotional development and has dire public health consequences.
Youths’ brains are not fully developed until the age of 25, and the introduction of substances, like nicotine, in high concentrations changes how the brain develops.2 E-cigarette use alters brain function for youth, mainly in concentration, recall, and decision making.2 Additionally, using e-cigarettes have caused skin disorders, poor oral health, fatigue, fever, increased risk for cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal complications, and seizures.
Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) are known as electronic cigarettes, e-cigarettes, e-cigs, and vapes. These devices first entered the market back in 2007 but didn’t gain popularity until the introduction of JUUL in 2015. Since the introduction of JUUL, e-cigarettes have been the most used tobacco/nicotine delivery method among youth and young adults. There are currently three main categories of e-cigarettes: disposable, prefilled/refillable, and tanks.
According to the 2023 Michigan Youth Tobacco Survey (MYTS), the state of Michigan, 16.5 percent of youth use any tobacco product, with 14.1 percent using e-cigarettes, which is greater than national average.3 The popularity of e-cigarette use in youth can be contributed to the vast array of flavors. Eighty five percent of youth, use and prefer flavored e-cigarettes, specifically fruits, candy, and mint/menthol flavors.3 Aggressive marketing practices that affect youth also include using younger looking models, advertising on popular websites and social media platforms, and using youth influencers to further entice youth to use their products. In addition to flavors and marketing, the vaping industry uses highly addictive levels of nicotine in affordable e-cigarettes.3 These factors impact youth in Michigan and the age of their tobacco initiation. The most common age for initiation of e-cigarettes in the state of Michigan is 13 or younger.3 Youth typically, obtain e-cigarettes from peers (40 percent), family members or other (24 percent), or by purchasing them from convenience stores with a 95 percent purchasing success rate.3
The Tobacco Section works to protect youth and support communities educating youth on the dangers of commercial tobacco. In addition to these educational resources, the Tobacco Section provides tobacco dependence treatment resources free to all Michigan residents. My Life My Quit is a youth centered and focused tobacco dependence treatment resource for 13–17-year-olds. This quit program has professionally trained coaches to assist and support youth through their quit journey. Additionally, there are on-demand printable resources for educators and community members at My Life My Quit. The Tobacco Section also provides a tobacco dependence treatment program for individuals 18 years old and older through the Michigan Quitlink. The Michigan Quitlink is free and confidential to all Michigan residents. Michigan Tobacco Quitlink: Home
1 Wong, M., and Talbot, P., (2024). Pac-Man on a vape: electronic cigarettes that target youth as a handheld multimedia and gaming devices. Tobacco Control. Published Online First: 15 June 2024. https://doi.org/10.1136/tc-2024-058794
2 University of Nevada, Reno. (n.d.). What does vaping do to your brain? What Does Vaping Do to Your Brain? | University of Nevada, Reno
3 Shamo, F. (2023). [Unpublished raw data on 2023 Michigan Youth Tobacco Survey Findings]. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.