The Juuling Epidemic

Years ago a new tobacco product was introduced that made those big, bulky vapes a thing of the past. Teens everywhere are picking up the new e-cigarette called the Juul. Basically it looks like a USB thumb drive that is easy to hide and hold. In the article, Op-Ed: Let’s call this youth vaping crisis what it is: A Juuling epidemic, the spread of using e-cigarettes for high school students increased to almost 80% from 2017-2018.

Students are showing signs of agitation, high emotion, and are unable to sit through class periods without taking a hit or a puff of their Juul. Some people that I know that Juul will secretly take a puff and blow it inside their shirt or sweater so professors and employers don’t see the smoke it produces.

These tobacco companies are creating an epidemic among the younger generations. These e-cigarettes are easily accessible at almost any smoke shop and gas station across the nation. And these Juuling companies are tricking the users into thinking that using e-cigarettes are better than smoking actual cigarettes. Users think just because they can have different flavors for the e-cigarettes and they aren’t lighting up an actual cigarette then it’s safer for them.

One step lawmakers have been taking is raising the legal age to purchase and use tobacco to 21 from the age of 18. So far, the tobacco purchase age is only raised across 19 states entirely. According to STATE BY STATE, there are over 540 cities and counties across 31 different that are also implementing the new tobacco law. Nebraska cities aren’t required yet to enforce the new tobacco law, but some cities and certain businesses across Nebraska are. Hawaii was the very first state back in 2015 that implemented the law to raise tobacco selling age to 21.

A few smoke shops in Kearney aren’t selling tobacco to persons under the age of 21. Store clerks are simply turning these underage people away while also not informing them which stores are selling to persons above the age of 18.

This is something that I like hearing. Not all stores are required, but some still decided to raise their age limits. Why help these teens get even more addicted to something so toxic to them? Why tell them where they can get these addictive e-cigarettes and who will actually sell it to them? I understand that we can’t raise the age to 21 across the whole United States yet because that takes time, but it’s nice seeing these small steps in the right direction.

One think I don’t understand is how these teens are wasting so much money just to get a quick little buzz. I had a roommate who had a Juul and she promised to quit a handful of times. Every time she declared she was done she would throw the stick in the garbage and put out in the trash bin. Not even a week later she’d be back puffing on another mint flavored Juul pod. On the Juul website, each stick is $14.99 unless you get the limited edition aqua or onyx color. A pack of four Juulpods are $15.99 and I’ve seen people with all different kinds of flavors and colors of Juulpods and sticks. People are wasting so much money on something they’re so addicted to. In my opinion, I’d rather spend my money on a vacation or a nice evening out.