Written by Caroline Luckie
It’s 2018 and the “Juul” has been named the “health problem of the decade.” So what exactly is the Juul that so many age groups can’t stop using? The Juul is a “vape” that was originally targeted for smokers that were trying to quit. However, it was not targeted to help end a nicotine addiction.
The problem now is that people who never had an addiction to it, are now starting to have one. Dr. Steven Masters, a physician in Knoxville said of the nicotine, “Because it’s so addictive, when kids start using nicotine by any means, they’re going to get a good chance that they’ll get addicted to it and start smoking.”
Juul, Juul charger, and pods https://sethbarham.com/blog/a-review-pax-juul-e-cig
The Juul is marketed as an adult alternative to cigarettes and you must be 18 to buy one, but some states have raised the age to 21.
The Juul is so new and no one knows exactly what’s in the “pods”. The pods are the cartridges that people will re-fill into the Juul. The pods come in many different flavors including mango, fruit punch, creme brulee, and mint. An issue is that the pod flavors seem too “kid friendly,” said U.S. Sen Chuck Schumer, and that there are “mystery chemicals” in the pods. (USA Today Article).
Statistics show that teens are more likely to use e-cigarettes than cigarettes.
https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/infographics/teens-e-cigarettes
That’s the concerning part, is that the Juul is meant to help smokers stop smoking, not for teens who just want to get a good buzz going.
Vaping has become the more popular trend, whereas it used to be cigarettes.
2007: Percentage of teens who say they ever tried cigarettes
22.1%
8th graders
10th graders
34.6%
46.2%
12th graders
2017: Percentage of teens who say they ever tried cigarettes
9.4%
15.9%
26.6%
2017: Percentage of teens who say they ever tried vaping
18.5%
30.9%
35.8%
Source: University of Michigan
http://time.com/5211536/what-is-juuling/
The vaping trend isn’t so new, but the Juul brand alone accounts for half of the e-cigarette market. Just in 2016, the company increased 700 percent in sales, generating more than $322 million dollars in revenue. The popularity of the Juul itself is very astounding.
http://wjla.com/features/7-on-your-side/are-your-kids-juuling-at-school-7-on-your-side-investigates
The Juul is the one vape that is trailing all the others.
In Oxford, the Juul is just as prevalent as it is anywhere else in the country right now. College students are doing it, high school students are doing it, and even middle school students too.
The Juul has become a problem on the Ole Miss campus as well. Ole Miss has a smoke free policy but this hasn’t stopped students.
Junior, Kennedy Glanzer saw someone “juuling” in the library bathroom this semester. “She didn’t even seem like she was trying to hide anything, but she just couldn’t stop hitting it,” said Glanzer.
Glanzer was a user of a few different kind of vapes before she turned to the Juul. However, the one she couldn’t get enough of was the Juul. Glanzer was what she called an “avid juuler” until she realized how much money she was wasting and what this device could do to her body.
“I loved it, it was fun and gave me a good buzz,” said Glanzer. However, after more and more studies came out proving what we don’t know about Juuls, she got a little nervous. “It did make sense. It’s so new, so how does anyone really know?” said Glanzer.
She also felt like she was wasting money since a Juul starter pack is $49.99 and a pack of four pods can cost anywhere from $17 to $24.
“The pods don’t even last that long. I would take two pods out for a night, and be done with it,” said Glanzer.
https://www.juulvapor.com/shop-pods
“After seeing how much money I was wasting, I decided to just throw the thing away,” said Glanzer.
It’s not just happening at the library either, some fraternity parties have been shut down due to Juuling. At two Sigma Chi date parties, the smoke detectors have gone off because of people hitting the Juul too hard who were standing under the detector.
“It puts a liability on the fraternity,” said Sigma Chi President Jack Chambers.
“We had to get everybody out of the house, and when the firemen came they had to inspect the entire house to make sure everybody left,” said Chambers.
“People don’t think about the Juul being smoke, because it doesn’t have the cigarette smell, but it is,” said Chambers.
“The firemen advised us not to let people Juul in the house when we have functions,” said Chambers.
The Juul has also become a problem at athletic events like the baseball games. People are getting kicked out of the baseball games for Juuling.
The reason for this though, is that Ole Miss is a smoke free campus. The policy reads as “In August 2012, the University of Mississippi introduced a new policy declaring the Oxford campus as smoke free. Smoking is prohibited at all times and at all locations of the University of Mississippi Oxford campus, including university-owned facilities, properties and grounds.”
https://smokefree.olemiss.edu/
“People think that they’re at a social event when they’re at a baseball game, and forget that they’re on campus, that’s why they get kicked out,” said Glanzer.
Many students try to hide what they’re doing by blowing the smoke in their cup, but the security at the games is always watching like hawks.
“I’ve seen people do it and try and act sly, but the security knows what to look for. I don’t understand why people try so hard to get away with it,” said Glanzer.
That’s the problem. People know that they could get kicked out for doing it, but they still do. People have truly become addicted to these small devices.
For as many restrictions there are on campus for smoking, there are no restrictions against Juuling off campus, as long as you are outside. Many bars in Oxford don’t care if people are vaping or smoking cigarettes as long as they’re outside. At Round Table, you’ll see at least thirty people outside juuling on a weekend night, said bartender Leighton Robertson.
“However, if you get caught Juuling inside the bar, you’ll be asked to leave immediately,” said Robertson.
It doesn’t seem to stop people though. Many people just think they can get away with it. They try and be sneaky, but it never ends up working in their favor.
Rebecca Crowther, who drives two middle school students to school has noticed the problem. “I was picking them up one day, and I hear one of the boys told me that a kid in their grade is selling Juul pods.”
“These kids are 13-14 years old and are using the Juul, they just think it’s cool,” said Crowther.
“It makes me wonder how these kids are even getting the Juul pods,” said Crowther.
These kids who never had a problem with any sort of addiction are now becoming addicts. “I don’t know if they think it’s cool to start doing it, but once they do, it’s like they can’t stop.”
The Juul is clearly a problem nationwide that needs to be taken care of. It’s scary that something that contains as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes in one pod is so popular in this generation. It’s a problem that needs to be stopped once and for all.
Caroline Luckie 