Gov. Whitmer OKs E-Cigarette Ban For Minors, Cites 'Reservations'

LANSING (CBS Detroit/AP) — In an effort to keep e-cigarettes out the hands of Michigan minors, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill Tuesday expressing reservations because it will separate e-cigarettes from the definition of tobacco products.

The new measures, which take effect in September, will prohibit stores from selling e-cigarettes and minors from using the products. The U.S. government already bars such sales, but Michigan was among just two states without its own restrictions.

Whitmer called the use of e-cigarettes by young people a "public health crisis" and said while the products were initially marketed as a tool to help smokers avoid inhaling tobacco smoke, the pitch now looks like a "bait and switch" to create new nicotine addicts.

Signing the legislation "is an important step in protecting public health and keeping tobacco products out of the hands of our kids, but we have to keep working to ensure that minors don't have access to any tobacco products, including harmful e-cigarettes," the Democrat said in a written statement. She called for raising the age to buy e-cigarettes to 21, curtailing internet sales and banning the marketing of all tobacco products to children.

Under the laws, people who sell tobacco, vapor or alternative nicotine products to minors will face larger misdemeanor fines ranging from $100 for a first offense to $2,500 for a third or subsequent offense. Minors will receive a civil infraction for their first or second offense, with a maximum $50 fine.

© 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.