Cigarettes are arranged for a photograph in New York on Dec. 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Patrick Sison, File)
While teen tobacco use in Michigan remains far below historic highs, data shows it’s beginning to rise again, fueling renewed calls to boost prevention spending that has fallen far short of federal recommendations.
Tobacco use among high school students rose to 16.5% in 2023, up from 14% in 2021, according to the most recent data from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
E-cigarettes were the most common form of tobacco used by Michigan high schoolers, including 11% of males and 19% of females, and use of both cigarettes and chewing tobacco products also rose slightly.
Health advocates are highlighting those figures as they call for more spending on efforts to prevent tobacco use, which the state says remains the largest contributor to preventable death in Michigan.
