According to an article written by “Journal Courier,” a 2019 study administered by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported half of Illinois high school students are using electronic tobacco products. This increasing trend of product use in Illinois is related to the total usage worldwide, which played a factor in declaring electronic tobacco use an “epidemic.” The fight to end the use of traditional cigarettes, cigars, and smokeless tobacco “has always been a multiprong approach,” says Shana Crews, an Illinois government relations director for the American Cancer Society Action Network. Many smoke-free laws have been put in place and funds have been increased for educational programs to end traditional smoking nationwide. However, in the state of Illinois, e-cigarettes are not included in the ban placed towards smoking in all public areas. To make matters worse, the new legislative proposals to place a ban on the flavored e-cigarette products were not addressed by the General Assembly this session in Illinois. Shana Crews performed an analysis where she identified the main problem in existing initiatives to promote awareness of the harms of e-cigarette usage — funding for cessation programs was the result. According to Crews analysis, the CDC recommended that Illinois spend $136.7 million on initiatives, but they only spend $9.1 million. The CDC survey concluded with alarming results, indicating that half of the Illinois high school students surveyed did not seek efforts to stop the use of tobacco products. Lissa Lacasse, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network said, “There is no safe level of use of tobacco products, and no reason for a child to be using an e-cigarette.”

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