Major
Health Studies
Advisor
Robert Rodgers
Advisor Department
Pharmacy Practice (PHP)
Date
5-2019
Keywords
Juul, e-cigarettes, vaping, health hazards
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Abstract
Juul is the most prominent producer of e-cigarettes, devices that vaporize nicotine for inhalation. These devices were developed to deliver nicotine in a tobacco-free vapor as a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes. The Juul, in particular among other e-cigarettes, delivers a much higher concentration of dissolved nicotine than a standard cigarette. Although many smokers use Juuls as a method of quitting cigarettes, the overwhelming majority of Juul users are 15-21 years old and have never before used cigarettes, but now have unknowingly become heavily addicted to the nicotine contents. Research has found that 63% of Juul users do not know that the product contains nicotine, and many users believe they are vaping “just flavoring.” Devices that were originally designed to help adults quit smoking have now become devices that are putting an entire generation at risk of nicotine dependence. Data collected gave disturbing insight into the marketing strategies of the Juul company, which targets and exploits naïve and vulnerable youth into purchasing, and subsequently becoming addicted to, their product for company profit.
The goal of this project is to raise public awareness about the severe health consequences of this current social norm and debunk myths that Juuls are harmless because they are a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes. Preventative measures to deter people from using Juuls as well as corrective interventions for Juul users to break their addictive patterns will be offered in an effort to address this national epidemic.
Included in
Health and Physical Education Commons, Other Chemicals and Drugs Commons, Public Health Education and Promotion Commons