Number
2603
Version
ORIGINAL
Reference
241545
Sponsor
MILWAUKEE YOUTH COUNCIL
Title
Resolution urging the Common Council to adopt the Youth Council’s anti-nicotine scholarship contest.
Analysis
This resolution urges the Common Council to adopt Common Council File Number 260192 using JUUL settlement funds to fund an anti-nicotine scholarship design contest run by the Milwaukee Youth Council.
Body
Whereas, According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2024, 5.9% of middle and high school students, around 1.63 million individuals, reported current use of e-cigarettes; and
Whereas, More than 1 in 4 of youth who currently use e-cigarettes use an e-cigarette product daily, and 38.4% of youth e-cigarette users report using e-cigarettes at least 20 of the last 30 days; and
Whereas, Flavored e-cigarettes are used by 87.6% of current e-cigarette users; and?
Whereas; The staggering rise in e-cigarette use by youth has been driven in part by marketing directly targeting youth; and
Whereas, These marketing practices have resulted in several major e-cigarette lawsuits, particularly against JUUL Labs, that have resulted in billions of dollars in settlements for targeting youth with marketing; and
Whereas, Research has shown that nicotine affects young brains very differently from mature brains, deepening addiction by over-producing nicotine neuron receptors and dysregulating the prefrontal cortex before it has a chance to fully develop, leading to higher rates of risk-taking behaviors and mood disorders; and
Whereas, Young brains exposed to nicotine experience other negative effects that may not occur in adults including memory and learning deficits and increased likelihood of addiction; and
Whereas, According to the Centers for Disease Control, nearly nine out of 10 adult daily smokers started their habit before age 18; and
Whereas, A proactive, youth-lead effort to combat nicotine use may be among the most effective strategies available for reducing t...
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