A JUULing Epidemic

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. People are ditching the cigarette and the bulky vape machine and picking up a device that’s easier to carry around and smoke indoors. 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 designed it to look unlike an actual cigarette because it makes users not associate the product with the negative stigmas tied to cigarettes.

Teens across the nation are getting their hands on these JUUL devices and it is turning vaping into an epidemic. These teens that are exposing themselves to these toxins, even if not the same as a regular cigarette, are exposing themselves to various health risks. Dangers of Vaping states that JUUL pods contain 5% nicotine and is equivalent to one package of cigarettes. Most teens are smoking at least a pod a day. Most users claim that using a JUUL is a safer alternative, but still contains an addictive substance and can often lead users to pick up smoking cigarettes.

The reason these JUULs are such a big product now, besides the small design, is the flavored pods that can be purchased. Flavors of JUUL pods that are being banned are fruit, dessert, and mint flavored pods. JUUL labs have already stopped selling their flavored pods and were not affected by the ban put in place on February 6. Teens were buying these flavors to get their buzz, while making it feel like they weren’t inhaling nicotine. Menthol and tobacco flavors are still going to be sold in stores. This ban is a step in the right direction, but as most have already pointed out, teens will find a way to continue to get their fruit flavored nicotine pods.

These products were first introduced to help adult smokers quit or at least cutback on smoking. More and more teens are picking up this bad habit to help them relax throughout the day. A study done by the CDC says that in 2019, there are 27% of high school students and 10% of middle school students who have said to have used an e-cigarette. For high school students that was a 1.6% increase from when the study was done in 2011. It doesn’t seem like a big number, but that’s another 1.6% that is exposing their body to harmful chemicals being released when they use an e-cigarette.

These teens are inhaling big doses of nicotine while their bodies are still developing and are more than likely to risk serious health problems. JUULing: Cigarettes for the next generation wants e-cigarette users to understand what they will put their body through by using a product with nicotine in it. Nicotine can affect the users eyesight by impairing the pigment in their eyes that is needed to see, it can increase the risk of infertility, it can cause the body to develop metabolites which increases cell division and can cause tumor and cancer development. These JUULs and other e-cigarettes are still a new invention and potentially putting long term effects on a person’s body that are unknown.

Another law that is being put into place across the United States is raising the tobacco age to 21. A total of 18 states have already implemented the age being raised to 21 and a total of 530 cities and counties have followed since. Without proper enforcement these underage kids are going to get their hands on nicotine products. Whether it be clerks failing to check IDs or people buying for underage persons in order to make some quick cash off of them, these kids are going to get nicotine products one way or another.

An old way to enforce the proper way to sell to people was to have undercover stings at places who sold tobacco and alcohol, but weren’t very effective. One way to enforce proper identification and sales of these products would be to give penalties to places who sold to underage persons. Eventually these penalties would lead to temporarily removing the license to sell and hopefully this will encourage owners and clerks to simply check a person’s ID or don’t sell to them if they refuse to show one.

It needs to be known to all the potential dangers of using these nicotine products, especially in the youth. Policies like enforcing a strict age on selling these products and banning products from being sold might help slow down the JUULing epidemic that the country is facing.