The growing epidemic of vaping/Juuling among young adults

A Juul very much resembling flash drives

(Image Credit: Montana Moore)
By Montana Moore
November 16, 2018

How exactly do e-cigarettes and Juuls work?

Elon, NC - E-cigarettes are booming in popularity among smokers of all ages, have even

attracted previous non-smokers.

An e-cigarette is a small handheld electronic device that simulates the sensation of

smoking.

It works by activating an inhaler cartridge containing polyethylene glycol which is

replaceable, along with flavoring and nicotine.

Along with every inhalation, a sensor triggers a vaporizer to heat a small amount of liquid

flavoring, which is also called “vaping.” The liquid then turns into vapor and is drawn into the

smoker’s mouth.
 Most of the harmful chemicals found in cigarettes are not found in the liquid vapor

according to the FDA, but the addictive chemical nicotine is.

The FDA-approved ingredient polyethylene glycol is

used in multiple consumer products. Unlike tobacco, the vapor

isn’t burned so hypothetically it is safer than traditional

smoking.

Resembling a USB drive, Juuls are the most popular

product on the e-cigarette market but they don’t resemble a

cigarette at all.

Juul is one of the most popular brands of e-cigarettes,

so popular some refer to the use of an e-cigarette as “Juuling.”

Every Juul comes with a pod inside which holds all the
The mechanical breakdown of an e-
ingredients. cigarette
(Infographic Credits: Phoenix eLiquid)

The pod has a controlled algorithm that is created to give the precise amount of power

whenever it’s inhaled by the user.

Each pod has a specific flavor that the consumer can chose from, the most popular ones

of them all are mint and mango.

These flavors have been what most of the hype is about.

The flavors have become so popular that as of November 13th its caused the FDA to force

Juul labs to announce their suspension sales in most of its flavored e-cigarette pods in retail

stores along with ending its social media promotions.

“We’re deeply concerned about the epidemic of youth use of e-cigs,” said FDA

Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., in a tweet.

 According to Gottlieb, “these products should never be marketed to, sold to, or used by

kids – and we need to make every effort to prevent kids from getting hooked on nicotine.”

The creation behind Juuls

Not only have e-cigarette

products found a spot in a multibillion

dollar industry but so has the brand

Juul. According to a report by

Bloomberg, 68 percent of the e-

cigarette market is dominated by Juul. A vaping device called the Suorin Drop
(Image Credits: Montana Moore)
In Juul’s original campaign ad from 2015 it showed 21 year-olds posing flirtatiously

while holding and using Juuls. This campaign sparked a reaction from teenagers as they became

increasingly intrigued by Juuls.

The campaign wasn’t aimed particularly at teenagers but a discussion began all across the

country among teenagers about the name of the device, meant to imply an object of attraction

and caught on as a verb, “Juuling.”

It wasn’t until January of 2017 that the company decided to increase the minimum age to

35 for models in the ads in hope that it would show their intent of concentrating on adult smokers

not teenagers.

The company changed its policy again in only June of this year, this time only using real

people who had substituted cigarettes for Juuls.

In an interview with Washington Post a former Juul senior manager, who asked that his

name not be used admits how consciously aware they were of the fact that teenagers were

promoting the use of Juuls on all multiple social media platforms.

 Now that the Juul company has seized 75 percent of the e-cigarette market, Juul doesn’t

need to promote itself on social media outlets because their underaged, previously non-smoking

customers are doing it for them.

There’s an increasing rate of Juul use by young adults aged 18 to 24 years-old. The

percent of young adults from this age range use e-cigarettes every day or some days increased

from 2.4 percent in the years 2012 and 2013, to 5.2 percent in 2015.

The impact of vaping products on college/high school campuses

Many college campuses along with high schools have convenient stores located very

close by which gives students access to Juuls/pods. But this close access only intensifies the

company’s growth.

“I try to tell these kids it’s no safer than smoking regular cigarettes but they tell me all the

time they’re just addicted at this point,” said Circle K employee David Henry.

The flavors aren’t what’s got young adults so hooked but it’s the nicotine sitting in the

Juul pod that cultivates from tobacco leaves.

The concern with teenagers inhaling the nicotine is the fact that their brains are still

developing.

“I’ve never inhaled anything before Juuling but I got into it after seeing so many friends

do it,” said Chapel Hill High School student, Josh whose last name isn’t used due to legality

reasons.

High schools don’t tend to have much experience with smoking anything containing

nicotine prior to Juuling so it’s just become a fad for high school students.

However, this experience has been the opposite for one Elon University College student

who asked for her real name not to be mentioned for confidentiality reasons.
 “As bad as it sounds, hitting a Juul first thing in the morning is the best feeling,” said

Taylor.

Smoking isn’t new to her because her father used to smoke cigarettes but has now grown

hip to vaping along with Taylor.

“I got him into vaping because I wanted him to stop smoking but I knew he couldn’t drop

it entirely so I told him about what I do and after trying it he loved it,” said Taylor.

The investment behind vape/Juul consumers

Taylor first began smoking only socially, but once she went abroad to Denmark the game

changed.

“I smoked cigs before going abroad a semester to Denmark but after realizing how much

money I spent on cigs I knew I needed to quit,” said Taylor.

One pack of cigarettes in Denmark is about 7 dollars in United States currency but when

you’re a student studying abroad and also buying a pack or two a day of cigarettes, that money

adds up very quickly.

How much does a typical college student spend on Juuling products?

If you were to ask Taylor, about $900 in the last three months.

“I’ve never thought about how much I’ve spent on Juuls but I go to Circle K about four

times a week to get pods and they run about $17 each so yeah I spend quite a bit of money on

pods,” said Taylor.

This addiction obviously not only puts the youth’s health at risk, but their bank accounts

too.

Impact on youth after cutting off flavors

 Now that the FDA has narrowed down what they believe is the most enticing aspect of

Juuls being the flavors and nicotine, the foreseen future of the impact on the youth should

become brighter.

According to Juul, by the end of the year there will be age-verification measures added to

guarantee no costumer is under the age of 21.

As of right now multiple convenient stores that are located on college campuses such as

Elon University still have the flavors because there hasn’t been a date announced as to when the

removal of flavors goes into effect.

According to one Circle K employee, Rhonda Thomas it’s a blessing in her eyes, “these

bad boys are one hot commodity so I’m very happy the flavors won’t be sold here anymore

because these kids will pull back on this addiction.”

Contact Information:

David Henry: 727-776-2366

Josh: 336-423-2217

Rhonda Thomas: 336-437-4477

Taylor: Elon Student who doesn’t want information shared due to confidentiality reasons