IOWA
Analysis, Commentary, Musings
IOWA
Analysis, Commentary, Musings
MICHIGAN
TOBACCO HARM REDUCTION 101: MICHIGAN
January 13, 2020
Key Points:
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Michigan’s vaping industry provided more than $608 million in economic activity in 2018 while generating 2,660 direct vaping-related jobs. Sales of disposables and prefilled cartridges in Michigan exceeded $16.3 million in 2016.
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As of January 9, 2020, MDHHS has reported 35 confirmed and 30 probable cases of vaping-related lung illnesses. MDHHS reports that 82.5 percent of patients report vaping THC. MDHHS earns a B for its reporting on vaping-related lung illnesses.
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In 2017, only 2.9 percent of Michigan high school students reported using vapor products daily. More data is needed.
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Only 5 percent of FDA retail compliance checks in Michigan resulted in sales of e-cigarettes to minors from January 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019.
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Michigan spends very little on tobacco prevention. In 2019, Michigan dedicated only $1.6 million on tobacco control, or less than 1 percent of what the state received in tobacco settlement payments and taxes.
MICHIGAN FLAVOR BAN IS BAD POLICY
September 10, 2019
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On September 4, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer unilaterally “ordered the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to issue emergency rules” that would ban retail and online sales of flavored e-cigarettes and vaping devices.
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The order would also “ban misleading marketing of vapor products, including the use of terms like ‘clean,’ ‘safe,’ and ‘healthy.’”
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The ban would go into effect 30 days after MDHHS issues the order and would last for six months.
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The Heartland Institute analyzed results from the 2017-18 California Youth Tobacco Survey (CYTS) and found that despite flavor restrictions in place in some localities, youth use of e-cigarettes in those areas increased after the bans when into place.
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Public health departments are linking vaping-related hospitalizations to the use of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) products.
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The Wisconsin Department of Health Services noted 89 percent of patients with vaping-related hospitalizations had “reported using e-cigarettes or other vaping devices to inhale THC products.”
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The Oregon Heath Authority admitted a resident died who “had recently used an e-cigarette or vaping device containing cannabis.”
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The Minnesota Department of Health reported an individual died from a “lung injury [that] was associated with vaping illicit THC products.”
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Whitmer’s proposal is misleading and full of false claims on the marketing of, and substances found in e-cigarettes.
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Per the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) 2016 deeming regulations, e-cigarette manufacturers and retailers are barred from making any health claims. The deeming regulations specifically prohibit the distribution of products whose “labeling, or advertising claim are ‘lower risk,’ ‘less harmful,’ … without an FDA order in effect.”
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“Formaldehyde” claims in e-cigarettes are over exaggerated and have been debunked. A study, analyzing regular use of e-cigarettes found formaldehyde to be practically absent, and at levels “far below what [cigarette] smokers inhale.”
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Instead of reducing tobacco harm reduction options for adults, Michigan lawmakers should direct more of the state’s tobacco moneys on tobacco education and prevention programs.
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Of the $1.2 billion Michigan received in 2019 in tobacco settlement payments and taxes, the state dedicated only $1.6 million, or 0.01 percent, on tobacco prevention programs.
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House Bill 4188 would increase the state’s cigarette tax by $1.50 from $2.00 to $3.50 per pack.
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The legislation would also increase the tax on other tobacco products (OTP) from 32 to 81 percent of the wholesale price and apply the OTP tax to e-cigarettes and vaping devices.
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Sin taxes, also known as excise taxes, are highly regressive and disproportionately impact lower income persons.
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E-cigarettes are a tobacco harm reduction product and should not be subjected to sin taxes, which are typically applied to discourage use of unhealthy products.
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Lower income persons are more likely to smoke than higher income persons.
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Americans with only a high school diploma smoke for a period “of more than twice as many years as people with at least a bachelor’s degree,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Lower-income Americans also spend more of their income on cigarettes.
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A Cato Journal article found that from “2010 to 2011, smokers earning less than $30,000 per year spent 14.2 percent of their household income cigarettes.”
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Smokers that earned between $30,000 and $59,999 spent 4.3 percent, and those earning more than $60,000 spent 2 percent of their income on cigarettes.
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Michigan currently uses very little tobacco money to help smokers quit.
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In 2018, the state received an estimated $1.2405 billion in tobacco settlement payments and taxes.
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However, Michigan spent only $1.6 million on tobacco prevention and cessation efforts.
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Numerous public health groups have acknowledged e-cigarettes to be significantly less harmful than combustible cigarettes including Public Health England, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and the American Cancer Society.
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The Royal College of Physicians, a respected and renowned public health organization finds e-cigarettes “an effective aid to quitting smoking,” and the health risks of e-cigarettes “is unlikely to exceed 5% of the harm from smoking tobacco.”
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Kenneth E. Warner, professor emeritus at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, is an outspoken opponent of Michigan’s proposed tax on e-cigarettes.
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Warner says the “benefits of vaping in terms of increasing adult smoking cessation, substantially outweigh the risks of kids becoming addicted to nicotine.”
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Warner says “the tax on [e-cigarettes] should be sufficiently lower than a tax on cigarettes to encourage adults to consider e-cigarettes as an alternative to smoking.”
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