It looks innocent enough: High school students chat before class, and one of them passes what looks like a USB device about the size of a long stick of gum to his friend. But that’s not a computer connection device – it’s a JUUL, a sleek e-cigarette that’s captivating high school students.
JUUL is an e-cigarette specifically for smokers as an alternative nicotine delivery system. JUUL Labs
JUUL is an e-cigarette specifically marketed for smokers as an alternative nicotine delivery system, but it’s making its way to minors anyway, leaving experts concerned and the company prioritizing damage control.
Here’s what you should know about the product:
What is it? JUUL is a newer e-cigarette product. Unlike e-cigarette products that more closely resemble regular tobacco cigarettes (aka cig-a-likes), JUUL is extremely discreet. JUUL produces a vapor, but apparently not as pronounced as other e-cigarettes. JUUL made up 49.6 percent of the e-cigarette industry’s retail dollar share as of the four weeks ending Feb. 24, according to a recent Wells Fargo Securities report by analyst Bonnie Herzog.
Here are more basics about the product and how it works, according to Linda Richter, the director of policy research and analysis at the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse:
- The JUUL includes a battery and temperature regulator.
- You insert an “e-juice” cartridge, made of nicotine and flavorings, into the regulator.
- Examples of flavors are: mango, crème brûlée and fruit medley.
- You can charge it via a laptop or other charger.
Who is it for? Two smokers – James Monsees and Adam Bowen – originally created JUUL to get people away from smoking cigarettes. It’s very much not for youth or for those who previously didn’t use nicotine, according to Ashley Gould, chief administrative officer for California-based JUUL.
Is it safe? E-cigarette research is still in its early stages, though one study from earlier this month found that teenagers using e-cigarettes face cancer-causing toxins. Another recent study points out people could be inhaling unsafe levels of toxic metals.
However, the American Cancer Society recently said in a statement that “based on currently available evidence, using current generation e-cigarettes is less harmful than smoking cigarettes, but the health effects of long-term use are not known.” The Public Health of England, a government agency, also touted evidence earlier this year that e-cigarettes could be effective for those looking to quit smoking and that vaping doesn’t involve as much of a risk as smoking.
While not all e-cigarettes include nicotine, JUUL does. A JUUL cartridge carries approximately the same amount of nicotine you’d find in a pack of cigarettes – a component that concerns Dr. Susanne Tanski, a general pediatrician at the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock.
Kids may think that the JUUL is safe to use because there isn’t a ton of information available about the excess risks of e-cigarettes, though Tanski says that just means people have to work that much harder to explain there’s a possibility of developing an addiction.
Is this product going to stay popular? For the nicotine power alone, Tanski thinks that “it’s probably going to be a very persistent product.” She says that kids are sharing hits off of the e-cigarettes, and it only takes a few inhalations to feel the buzz. Parents may not recognize their children have tried them or possibly developed an addiction to nicotine.
“Many of these same kids will say they’ll never touch a cigarette because they know that cigarettes are bad and cigarettes are gross and they make you smell awful,” Tanski says.
She adds that society has done a nice job denormalizing cigarette use and making it not cool – and the same has to be done for this evidently cool-looking product.
But making it not cool is key, especially considering that “we are introducing nicotine to a host of kids who otherwise may never have touched it,” Tanski says.
And then there’s the question whether JUUL’s approach is the right way to go for cigarette smokers.
“Even among people who already smoke cigarettes, there’s evidence that most use vaping products like JUULs alongside cigarettes rather than in place of them, increasing their exposure to nicotine and other toxic chemicals rather than weaning off cigarettes and eventually quitting altogether,” Richter says.
Is JUUL doing anything to combat backlash? Yes. Gould acknowledges “that there appears to be an issue” regarding all the reports of high school students using the product, and notes the company is obviously not selling to youth.
JUUL has a full-time director of youth education and prevention in addition to consultants, and is also hiring multiple people for both their internal team and in an external capacity, according to the company. It has also developed a curriculum to use with parents and students as a part of this process and intends to make it available for anyone who would like to see and use it.
So far, the company says it hasn’t had a lot of positive response for their request to engage with schools – Gould thinks educators are lumping it in with Big Tobacco – but it’s still trying. She understands there is mistrust, but claims JUUL is genuinely trying to help and be part of the solution.
Other efforts the company has taken on include a secret shopping program (where a third party visits an independent retailer to see if they are following state law when selling their product), a revamped online age verification process (you now have to be 21 years old to purchase JUUL online, no matter what state you’re in) and a youth prevention hotline. As of the end of last year, dozens of states ban the sale of such products to those under the age of 18, while others set the threshold at 19 or 21.
