Gov. DeWine Encourages Tobacco and Nicotine Restrictions

With the popularity of e-cigarettes continuing to increase, especially amongst young people, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine was joined by Bruce Vanderhoff, MD, OhioHealth senior vice president and chief medical officer; Amy Acton, MD, director of health for the Ohio Department of Health; and the mother of a teenager who vaped, to talk about the importance of living tobacco and nicotine-free and the community resources available to youth and adults hoping to quit.

“Throughout my career, I have fought to keep nicotine and tobacco out of the hands of children, who are attractive targets for companies that want to hook a new generation on their products,” said Gov. DeWine. “One of my greatest accomplishments as Governor is to have signed a budget that included a 'Tobacco 21' provision to increase the legal minimum age to give, sell, or distribute tobacco and other nicotine products from 18 to 21.”

Gov. DeWine also voiced his support for a legislative ban on flavored e-cigarette products, along with a new campaign from the Ohio Department of Health targeting parents and teens throughout the state, called the Truth Initiative.

Nicotine, known to interfere with brain development, is a highly addictive substance. The amounts contained in certain e-cigarette products can be extremely dangerous, sometimes more than an entire pack of cigarettes. For the many young people that are easily susceptible, it can create powerful addiction pathways and increase their risk of contracting lung cancer.

“At OhioHealth, we see first-hand how vaping and tobacco use present real dangers to the health of our community and create far too many emergency visits,” said Dr. Vanderhoff. “We commend the efforts of Gov. DeWine, Dr. Acton and the Ohio Department of Health to educate the community about these dangers and provide additional resources to help individuals address their addiction.”

If you or a loved one is looking to quit vaping or smoking, there are resources to help. The Ohio Tobacco Quit Line provides personal quit coaching and telephone counseling free of charge to all adult Ohioans. Just call 1-800-QUIT-NOW. For Ohioans under 18, call or text My Life, My Quit at 1-855-891-9989. This free program combines best practices and new ways for teens to reach a coach using live text messages or online chat.

For more information about OhioHealth, click here.