Editing Openai/67bf8528-f2b8-8002-85a0-0cfcb5bcc53c (section)

==== Enforcement Trends in Michigan and Nationally ====

Michigan (including its northern regions) has followed national trends in strengthening youth tobacco laws. In 2019–2020, both federal and state law raised the legal tobacco sales age to 21 (“Tobacco 21”)kellykellylaw.com<ref>{{cite web|title=kellykellylaw.com|url=https://kellykellylaw.com/blog/criminal-defense/michigan-vaping-laws/#:~:text=,and%20reduce%20the%20youth%20vaping|publisher=kellykellylaw.com|access-date=2025-11-30}}</ref>. This change aimed to make it harder for high-school-aged teens to obtain cigarettes or vapes. Enforcement efforts in Michigan have concentrated on retail compliance – ensuring stores don’t sell to minors – more than on catching youth in possession. State and local police conduct compliance checks (often using undercover teen decoys) to catch retailers violating the law. Research shows that robust enforcement of sales laws (frequent checks and penalties for clerks) reduces youth access and usageotru.org<ref>{{cite web|title=otru.org|url=https://www.otru.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/enforcement-april-2021-final.pdf#:~:text=%E2%80%A2%20Lack%20of%20enforcement%20is,social%20sources%20of%20conventional%20cigarettes|publisher=otru.org|access-date=2025-11-30}}</ref>. In fact, a systematic review found that any intervention that limits commercial sales to minors ultimately reduces youth smoking ratesotru.org<ref>{{cite web|title=otru.org|url=https://www.otru.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/enforcement-april-2021-final.pdf#:~:text=%E2%80%A2%20Lack%20of%20enforcement%20is,social%20sources%20of%20conventional%20cigarettes|publisher=otru.org|access-date=2025-11-30}}</ref>. Michigan’s participation in the federal Synar program (which penalizes states if too many stores sell to minors) has driven retailer violation rates down – the state’s goal is at least 80% compliance in these stingsupnorthprevention.org<ref>{{cite web|title=upnorthprevention.org|url=https://www.upnorthprevention.org/tobacco-education#:~:text=business%20and%20a%20conversation%20with,can%20be%20penalized%20by%2025|publisher=upnorthprevention.org|access-date=2025-11-30}}</ref>upnorthprevention.org<ref>{{cite web|title=upnorthprevention.org|url=https://www.upnorthprevention.org/tobacco-education#:~:text=County%20Sheriffs,tobacco%20to%20our%20underage%20decoy|publisher=upnorthprevention.org|access-date=2025-11-30}}</ref>. (One northern Michigan initiative initially found only 65% of stores compliant, then stepped up education and achieved 94% compliance on follow-upupnorthprevention.org<ref>{{cite web|title=upnorthprevention.org|url=https://www.upnorthprevention.org/tobacco-education#:~:text=In%20preparation%20for%20the%20store,tobacco%20to%20our%20underage%20decoy|publisher=upnorthprevention.org|access-date=2025-11-30}}</ref>upnorthprevention.org<ref>{{cite web|title=upnorthprevention.org|url=https://www.upnorthprevention.org/tobacco-education#:~:text=grocery%20stores%2C%20gas%20stations%2C%20bars,tobacco%20to%20our%20underage%20decoy|publisher=upnorthprevention.org|access-date=2025-11-30}}</ref>.) This underscores that consistent enforcement against sellers is key to restricting youth access.

When it comes to direct enforcement against minors, the approach is typically less aggressive. School resource officers or local police in the NW Lower Peninsula do issue tickets to students caught vaping on school grounds or in publicdavisonindex.mihomepaper.com<ref>{{cite web|title=davisonindex.mihomepaper.com|url=https://davisonindex.mihomepaper.com/articles/fcs-partners-with-municipalities-law-enforcement-to-create-anti-vaping-campaign/#:~:text=FCS%20partners%20with%20municipalities%2C%20law,To%20get|publisher=davisonindex.mihomepaper.com|access-date=2025-11-30}}</ref>, but these incidents are usually handled as teaching moments. Law enforcement officials often coordinate with schools: for instance, a teen might get a citation plus a referral to a school-approved tobacco education program instead of a heavy penalty. Police throughout Michigan acknowledge that the bigger supply chain is the problem – hence the crackdowns on businesses. Recent enforcement sweeps in the Detroit area targeted dozens of shops selling vapes to underage buyerswxyz.com<ref>{{cite web|title=wxyz.com|url=https://www.wxyz.com/news/voices/inside-the-detroit-police-crackdown-on-businesses-selling-vapes-to-minors#:~:text=Inside%20the%20Detroit%20police%20crackdown,businesses%20that%20sell%20them%20illegally|publisher=wxyz.com|access-date=2025-11-30}}</ref>. Statewide, agencies have focused on retailer stings (even using federal FDA checks) to curb the flow of e-cigarettes to youthwxyz.com<ref>{{cite web|title=wxyz.com|url=https://www.wxyz.com/news/voices/inside-the-detroit-police-crackdown-on-businesses-selling-vapes-to-minors#:~:text=Inside%20the%20Detroit%20police%20crackdown,businesses%20that%20sell%20them%20illegally|publisher=wxyz.com|access-date=2025-11-30}}</ref>.

Nationally, nearly all states have laws against underage tobacco possession, but enforcement intensity variesncbi.nlm.nih.gov<ref>{{cite web|title=ncbi.nlm.nih.gov|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK310404/#:~:text=Currently%2C%20the%20youth%20access%20laws,only%20from%20home%20to|publisher=ncbi.nlm.nih.gov|access-date=2025-11-30}}</ref>. A few states (such as New York and Massachusetts) have no penalties for minors at allncbi.nlm.nih.gov<ref>{{cite web|title=ncbi.nlm.nih.gov|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK310404/#:~:text=Currently%2C%20the%20youth%20access%20laws,only%20from%20home%20to|publisher=ncbi.nlm.nih.gov|access-date=2025-11-30}}</ref>, reflecting a philosophy that only sellers should be punished. In most states, like Michigan, police can cite minors, but in practice these laws are often lightly enforced. Many police departments consider underage smoking/vaping a lower priority offense unless it’s a rampant problem in a particular school or community. The priority shift is evident: rather than patrolling parks to nab teens with Juul devices, authorities allocate resources to compliance checks, retailer education, and busting illicit sales networks. This trend aligns with public health guidance that stopping youth smoking is best done by cutting off access (through age restrictions, taxes, and advertising bans) rather than by punishing the youth themselvestobaccocontrol.bmj.com<ref>{{cite web|title=tobaccocontrol.bmj.com|url=https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/12/suppl_1/i6.short#:~:text=Teen%20penalties%20for%20tobacco%20possession%2C,In|publisher=tobaccocontrol.bmj.com|access-date=2025-11-30}}</ref>changelabsolutions.org<ref>{{cite web|title=changelabsolutions.org|url=https://www.changelabsolutions.org/sites/default/files/2019-05/PUPinSmoke_FINAL_2019-04-17.pdf#:~:text=are%204%20times%20more%20likely,does%20not%20include%20youth%20PUP|publisher=changelabsolutions.org|access-date=2025-11-30}}</ref>.

Michigan’s recent data reflect both progress and remaining challenges. Governor Whitmer noted in 2019 that previous measures (like banning sales to minors) had “fallen short” as youth vaping rates explodedbridgemi.com<ref>{{cite web|title=bridgemi.com|url=https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-health-watch/vaping-may-be-bad-teens-will-michigans-ban-hurt-smokers-trying-quit#:~:text=Earlier%20this%20year%2C%20Michigan%20lawmakers,engineered%20to%20create%20new%20addicts|publisher=bridgemi.com|access-date=2025-11-30}}</ref>. Indeed, between 2015 and 2018, Michigan saw an “explosive increase” in teen vaping – some high schools reported well over a doubling of e-cig usebridgemi.com<ref>{{cite web|title=bridgemi.com|url=https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-health-watch/vaping-may-be-bad-teens-will-michigans-ban-hurt-smokers-trying-quit#:~:text=switch%E2%80%9D%20engineered%20to%20create%20new,addicts|publisher=bridgemi.com|access-date=2025-11-30}}</ref>. This led to emergency actions (like a temporary flavored vape ban) to complement existing lawsbridgemi.com<ref>{{cite web|title=bridgemi.com|url=https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-health-watch/vaping-may-be-bad-teens-will-michigans-ban-hurt-smokers-trying-quit#:~:text=The%20move%20makes%20Michigan%20the,ban%20flavored%20nicotine%20vaping%20products|publisher=bridgemi.com|access-date=2025-11-30}}</ref>bridgemi.com<ref>{{cite web|title=bridgemi.com|url=https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-health-watch/vaping-may-be-bad-teens-will-michigans-ban-hurt-smokers-trying-quit#:~:text=Vaping%20surged%20in%20Michigan%20schools,of%20Health%20and%20Human%20Services|publisher=bridgemi.com|access-date=2025-11-30}}</ref>. Since then, with Tobacco 21 and broader awareness, there are signs of improvement. National surveys show teen e-cigarette use peaked around 2019 and has declined significantly by 2023. For example, U.S. high school e-cig use fell to about 10% in 2023 (down from over 27% in 2019)cdc.gov<ref>{{cite web|title=cdc.gov|url=https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7244a1.htm#:~:text=In%202023%2C%2010.0,to%202023%2C%20a|publisher=cdc.gov|access-date=2025-11-30}}</ref>. Traditional cigarette smoking by teens is at a record low (roughly 2% or less in recent surveys)cdc.gov<ref>{{cite web|title=cdc.gov|url=https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2024/p1017-youth-tobacco-use.html#:~:text=Youth%20Tobacco%20Product%20Use%20at,reporting%20current%20use%20in%202024|publisher=cdc.gov|access-date=2025-11-30}}</ref>. Michigan likely mirrors these trends, as state officials report youth smoking rates have dropped in the long term. It’s hard to isolate how much of these declines are due to law enforcement versus other factors (like public education campaigns, higher tobacco taxes, and the changing social norms around smoking). But raising the legal age to 21 is expected to have a measurable impact. The Institute of Medicine projected that a nationwide Tobacco 21 policy would eventually lead to a 12% reduction in overall smoking prevalencefightcancer.org<ref>{{cite web|title=fightcancer.org|url=https://www.fightcancer.org/sites/default/files/docs/Raising%20the%20Minimum%20Age%20of%20Sale%20of%20Tobacco%20Products%20to%2021%20ACS%20CAN%20Factsheet%202017..pdf#:~:text=,1%20One%20of%20the|publisher=fightcancer.org|access-date=2025-11-30}}</ref>. In theory, fewer high school seniors can buy tobacco legally now, which means fewer younger teens have social access to those products.

In summary, enforcement in Michigan and the U.S. has evolved to focus on upstream prevention. The consensus approach is: make tobacco harder for youth to get (enforce age limits on sellers), educate youth about the risks, and use penalties for minors sparingly as a deterrent. Northwestern Michigan fits into this pattern, combining law enforcement with community prevention programs rather than relying on punitive measures alone.