A new type of e-cigarette is taking over the lives of a younger generation. Ever since the Juul vaping stick has been introduced more teens have been picking it up. The sleek design makes the JUUL look like a pen or a USB drive, which allows users to hide their constant puffs from the nicotine stick. Creators of the JUUL stick purposely didn’t design it to look like an actual cigarette because it makes users believe they are doing better by not smoking an actual cigarette or reminding them of one.
People who are using these JUULs and other forms of vapes are going to become addicted because of the nicotine that is in these vapes. (definitional) JUULing isn’t an alternative to help people quit smoking, often times it encourages it. Most teenagers and even middle schoolers are vaping and because of this the legal age for purchasing tobacco should be raised to 21 across all states. (policy claim)
An article that talks about teens JUULing at school and what it means, warns that these e-cigarettes may contain less toxins than a regular cigarette would, but could still expose users to cancer-causing chemicals. Since the JUUL hasn’t been around as long as normal cigarettes have, it’s not entirely clear the long term health effects it has on a person. It’s not going to be the same health effects as a typical cigarette, but there are going to be health risks from using the JUUL (causal). One JUUL pod is equal to one pack of cigarettes, which is easy for consumers to smoke.
Users of the JUUL or another type of e-cigarette are putting themselves at risk. Teens that are JUULing are risking their important brain development period because they want to smoke. (factual) Exposing the young body to such high amounts of nicotine can eventually lead into doing other and more dangerous drugs. (Causal)
The more the JUUL is used the more it triggers the dopamine levels in the brain. Dopamine is linked with pleasure so kids are thinking by using their JUUL they are increasing their pleasure levels and want to JUUL more. Now, JUULing at a young age can increase the chances of an early nicotine addiction. (Factual) Early nicotine addiction is being linked with numerous mental illnesses like mood disorders and impulse control. (Causal)
Raising the age requirement to buy tobacco from 18 to 21 won’t stop these underage users from finding ways to get their next JUUL pod. (Factual) Users have other sources like fake I.D.s and people who are willing to buy the products for them. Yes, this is and always will be a constant battle, but there may come a time when everyone decides they don’t want to support giving these teens a nicotine addiction.
In order to stop sales to these teens, retail sellers need to be more strict when people are purchasing tobacco products. Retailers need to be checking I.D.s with everyone to ensure no underage person is being sold tobacco. If we don’t hold these sellers accountable, they will never change their ways and continue to sell these addictive products to minors. (factual)
The more the users take a hit from their JUUL the more the disrupted the person’s body is going to feel. (Factual) Juuling: Cigarettes for the Next Generation has found that tobacco and nicotine are the leading cause to preventable cancer. Inhaling tobacco and nicotine will constantly cause the body to deteriorate over time and eventually causing many physical and health problems. (Causal)
Ending this JUULing and vaping epidemic can happen as long as retailers are willing to help control who they are selling to. Inhaling tobacco and nicotine is bad for everyone, but if we can prevent these teens who’s minds and bodies are still developing from starting these bad habits, then it’s one more step in the right direction to ensuring these kids have long and healthy lives. (Causal).
Alana's Blog 
It was interesting to see the way you proposed your policy claim at the beginning of your post. It is a strong policy claim and one that seems to be already in action. You also took it a step further by identifying other ways that this policy claim could be implemented. Especially by store clerks. You had a list of causal claims which are appropriate when talking about the effects of nicotine. It seemed there were a few of those claims that could also be labeled as value one’s as well. All in all, you seemed to do a great job at identifying the claims in your post.
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I agree that the Juul epidemic needs to be controlled. Although, I am not sure retailers care. They’re making money, just like they make money off lottery, beer and cigarettes and those all have age requirements. I think if anyone wants to do something about this, they need to discontinue the products and bankrupt the Juul company.
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Solid policy claim – So you are asking for congress to take action? Are you going to be asking particular reps or senators to take action? Do you want people to be calling or writing to congress about this? Do you want to piggy back this on the bans already put in place on flavored cartridges?
You kind of have two issues going on here: 1- Juuling is bad. 2 – We need to keep vaping carts out of the hands of teens. I think that is really what you are getting at here and want to focus on. You don’t have to do a lot to convince people that making teens into nicotine addicts is bad. So more look at how are they being distributed and how can that be stopped.
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