House committee advances legislation protecting Michigan youth from dangers of tobacco, nicotine

Bills would require retailers to obtain a license to sell tobacco, repeal penalties on youth for tobacco use 

LANSING – The Keep MI Kids Tobacco Free Alliance today applauded members of the Michigan House Families, Children and Seniors for advancing legislation that will prioritize the health of kids by implementing evidence-based tobacco prevention measures.

“Michigan lags far behind in tobacco prevention and we’re grateful to committee members for taking action to reverse that trend by advancing parts of the Protect MI Kids bill package today,” said Jodi Radke, regional director for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and co-chair of the Keep MI Kids Tobacco Free Alliance. “Time is running out to protect our kids from the dangers of tobacco and nicotine and we urge the full House to advance these bills, and the rest of the Protect MI Kids bill package, quickly before session ends.”

The “Protect MI Kids” bills approved today would:

• Establish statewide Tobacco Retail Licensing (TRL) to ensure tobacco retailers are held accountable for following laws, especially not selling tobacco to minors (House Bills 6002 and 6003).

• Repeal ineffective penalties that punish kids for tobacco purchase, use and possession (House Bills 6004 and 6005).

“Time is long overdue to put an end to 16,000 preventable deaths that happen in our state from tobacco-related illnesses each year and protect our youth from becoming addicted in the first place,” said Minou Jones, chair of the Detroit Wayne Oakland Tobacco-Free Coalition. “We need to build stronger, healthier communities and that means enacting stronger tobacco prevention policies that protect our youth. Michiganders are counting on legislators to get these bills over the finish line and show that kids matter more than that tobacco industry.”  

The bills now head to the full House for consideration.

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