Trends come and go like seasons, but one trend that doesn’t seem like is going anywhere is ‘juuling’. What is ‘juuling’ you may ask? Well it’s pretty simple, it’s a the action of smoking out of a Juul. You probably own a Juul yourself or have friends that have one. If not, a Juul is a new form of e-cigarette that looks like a flash drive and can be charged by plugging it into the USB slot of a laptop. It’s easy to use, portable, stylish and comes in different flavors. It’s no wonder the Juul has become extremely popular with young adults.
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Although Juuls are being used by college students as a fun and trendy way of smoking, the original purpose of the product was the complete opposite. In the ‘JUULS Labs’ website, co-founders, James Monsees and Adam Bown, explain how the product was made as an alternative to smoking cigarettes. Both of them were smokers before and wanted to find a way of quitting that habit because they were “increasingly dissatisfied with the health and social impacts of cigarettes.” Their target consumers are adult smokers and they don’t encourage people who don’t currently smoke to use the product. Because even though the Juul has fewer toxic substances, it’s still contains nicotine. ” Doctors do know that each Juul pod contains nicotine equivalent to a pack of cigarettes”, said Jamie Ducharme of the TIME Health Magazine.
The problem this product is having in society is mostly due to it’s popularity with teenagers. ” Nicotine can be harmful for teenagers whose brains are still developing,” said Carol Southard in Women Health Magazine. Even though you have to be 21 and older to buy Juuls online and 18 and older to buy them in retail stores, teens still find ways to purchase the product (perks of having older siblings). Also since the Juul’s design is so discreet, teachers and parents don’t even realize they are e-cigarettes. Many schools are becoming aware of the Juuls epidemic and are taking action against having the products on school grounds.
Research on whether e-cigarettes, such as the Juul, have helped adults quit smoking is still not clear. Yet, as you may have seen with your friends or yourself, ‘juuling’ has become a popular habit. So even if you’re trying to quit cigarette smoking or using it for recreational purposes, you’re becoming addictive to something, which is never healthy. It’s always smart to know what you’re putting inside your body and its consequences, so before you “huff and puff” be well informed and proceed with caution.
Sources:
https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a18377132/juuling/
http://time.com/5211536/what-is-juuling/?iid=sr-link1
https://www.juullabs.com/our-perspective/
Cover photo:
http://www.nationalscreeningcenters.com/lisitng/the-rise-of-the-juul-vape-pen