Flavored e-cigarette use among teenagers is a growing public health issue in Chicago. As a public health student who has seen younger students in my community struggle with vaping addiction, this issue feels personal to me. What often begins as experimenting with “harmless” flavors like mango or mint can quickly turn into daily nicotine dependence. I have watched how normalized vaping has become in high schools, especially in neighborhoods already facing health inequities. 

This petition addresses the continued sale of flavored e-cigarettes near schools in Chicago. Research shows that flavored nicotine products are a major reason youth initiate vaping, and easy access near schools increases the risk of addiction during adolescence, a critical period for brain development. 

For this petition, I am targeting Mayor Brandon Johnson, who has the authority to support and enforce citywide ordinances regulating tobacco and e-cigarette sales. As Mayor, he can champion legislation and direct enforcement through city agencies, making him a decision-maker with the power to enact meaningful change. 

Mayor Brandon Johnson, Chicago must prohibit the sale of flavored e-cigarettes within 1,000 feet of all city schools to protect youth from nicotine addiction. 

Flavored vape products, marketed as mango, mint, and cotton candy, make nicotine use appealing to adolescents. Research shows that most youth who vape begin with flavored products. During adolescence, the brain is still developing, and nicotine exposure can permanently affect attention, learning, mood regulation, and impulse control. Early nicotine dependence also increases the likelihood of future cigarette use and long-term cardiovascular and respiratory disease. In Chicago, tobacco retailers are more heavily concentrated in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, placing already vulnerable youth at greater risk. Easy access to flavored e-cigarettes near schools reinforces health inequities rather than preventing them. 

We are asking you to pass and enforce a citywide ordinance banning flavored e-cigarette sales within 1,000 feet of all K–12 schools and to invest in youth cessation programs. As Mayor, you have the authority to champion this policy and direct enforcement through city agencies. If we act now, we can reduce youth nicotine initiation and protect adolescent brain development. If we fail to act, addiction rates will continue, leading to preventable disease, higher healthcare costs, and widening disparities.

Chicago should lead in protecting its youth, this action cannot wait.