You may have heard of “Juuling” – and no, it’s not a new dance, but a dangerous form of vaping popular among teens and young adults. JUUL vapes are what some call the “Apple or iPhone” of vaping,” with a sleek, portable design that looks like a thumb drive. Like other forms of vaping, JUUL pods are offered in array of colors and enticing flavors – créme bruleé and mango, for example. And although you need to be 21 years old or older to purchase the device online, some states don’t have age restrictions for vape purchases.
Beyond the already established dangers of e-cigarettes – a national panel of public health experts just released a report that teenagers who use the devices may be at higher risk of smoking – so-called JUULs could be as dangerous as smoking a pack of cigarettes. Each pod is equal to 200 cigarette puffs, according to the JUUL website.
What’s perhaps more alarming, however, is that 25 percent of JUUL users, ages 15 to 24, don’t identify Juuling as vaping – and are equally “clueless to what they’re inhaling,” according to Reader’s Digest. In fact, according to a recent Truth Initiative web panel of more than 1,000 young adults, 37 percent were uncertain that they were inhaling nicotine.
“It is extremely worrisome that teens and young adults do not know that when they JUUL, they are inhaling an addictive substance,” says Robin Koval, CEO and President of the Truth Initiative, told Reader’s Digest. “But it’s not surprising — many young people do not purchase their own vape products, and there will not be labeling requirements indicating that products contain nicotine until August 2018.”
JUUL is still too new a product to know its specific risks, however, according to the Truth Initiative, nicotine is highly addictive and can alter nerve cell functioning in teen development.
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