On Sept. 4, 2019 the story broke out that Michigan has become the first state to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes, more popularly known as Juuls . This ban is implemented by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and will forbid any sale of flavored nicotine vaping products. This ban does not ban all vapes, unflavored and tobacco flavored e-cigarettes are still legal and permitted to use for people over the age of 18 as of September 2019. However, people under the age of 18 are still banned from buying any form of vaping devices. Governor Gretchen Whitmer has initiated this ban and it was passed by Michigan state agencies. this ban for six months where it can be continuously renewed; however, according to an interview she had with MSNBC, she hopes for it to become a law. 

Why The Ban Happened 

The ban was put into place after the MDHHS realized a rise in teen health issues that are caused by vapes. Since e-cigarettes have not been around as long as other nicotine products, there hasn’t been as much research and coverage on how they really affect someone’s health. Unlike cigarettes, no one was certain of the long term effects these products have. However, recently, there has been an outbreak of teens being hospitalized from vapes. There is still a question as to why they only decided to ban flavored vapes. According to an interview MSNBC conducted with Whitmer, 81% of teens who vape start off with flavored products.

Related Deaths

The number of serious lung problems caused because of e-cigarettes are tremendously growing every single day along with deaths. According to CNBC, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said, as of Sept. 24, 2019, the deaths in the United States caused by vaping has grown to 9. The illnesses linked with vaping around the nation has grown to 530 cases. Over half of the 530 cases were younger than 25 years old.

New Sickness

Early August, the Federal Drug Association (FDA), researched more on the vaping problem and what it’s actually doing to the health of all the people vaping on a daily basis for a long period of time. More specifically, how vaping and seizures are related. The FDA had gotten 127 reports of seizures or other neurological symptoms that happened to people that vaped between the years 2010 and 2019. Some of these other neurological symptoms include things like fainting or tremors. The number of cases reported to the FDA from April to August of 2019 increased by 92.

Effects on the City of Dearborn

      Here in Dearborn, vaping has become a very common trend, along with the rest of the nation. With the ban against flavored e-cigarettes in Michigan, this will affect a lot of businesses, as well as changing the habits of many Dearborn residents.

Ali Hamade, manager of the local shop Vape Zone on W Warren Ave. has been manager there since they opened in 2016. Hamade said that the recent vape ban has really taken a toll on sales, and is making them discount all their merchandise to sell as much as they can before they can’t anymore. “The ban has effectively about eliminated 80% of our sales. We can no longer sustain to keep a vape only shop open as the ban does not allow us to sell the majority of the products on our shelves,” Hamade said. “As a result, we are forced to put a store wide sale beginning at 50% off to get rid of our entire stock within a week before the ban takes place.”

Council President Susan Dabaja has served in her role for two terms now for the City of Dearborn. Dabaja said that if anyone is considering starting to vape, they should research the negative effects involved. “We [Dearborn community] are smart, and with sufficient public education and awareness I hope these products will be avoided. I would advise anyone thinking of using vaping products to first read the latest medical findings about health problems caused by vaping,” Dabaja said.

Dabaja said Dearborn residents should be using social media platforms to inform teens of the risks that come with it.“Social media is used by most, if not all, teens. There should be a huge social media campaign educating them about the harmful and even fatal effects that vaping has had on people. These problems may be even more dangerous to your health than those caused by regular tobacco use. It’s just not worth the risk,” Dabaja said.

Adam Martin has been a principal here at Dearborn High since 2016. Martin said that there could be two possible reasons kids are no longer getting caught with vaping products, ““I don’t know if that’s a product of the ban or that’s a product of last year. Last year we had a lot of it going on,” Martin said. “I don’t know if kids just figured out smarter ways to have it here and avoid getting caught, or if they just determined ‘Hey it’s not worth bringing, it’s not worth the risk.’”

Trump’s Plan

On Sept. 4, 2019, the same day Michigan’s ban became public, the Trump administration announced that they were going to ban the sale of most flavored e-cigarettes in the United States. According to The New York Times, President Donald Trump said, “We can’t allow people to get sick. And we can’t have our kids be so affected.”

Juul CEO steps down

As a result of worries and unanswered questions about the long-term effects of vaping, on Sept. 25, 2019, Juul Labs Chief Executive Officer and former CEO Kevin Burns stepped down. That same day, the company announced that they will stop all advertising for their products in the United States. Juul also announced that they will abide by any ban of vaping products come and will not try to challenge Trump’s ban.