US: The JUUL Might Be More Addictive Than Cigarettes, New Study Suggests

Source from:  Columbia Missourian 10/24/2018

Young adults who have tried the JUUL use the device twice as much as young adults who have smoked cigarettes, according to a study from the Stanford University School of Medicine released Friday.

The JUUL is a small black vaping device that resembles a USB flash drive. Exceedingly popular among teens and young adults, about 200 puffs provide the same amount of nicotine as a pack of cigarettes.

The study's participants, who ranged from seniors in high school to a few years post-graduation, reported thinking that JUULs may be safer and less addictive than other products. But other results from the study suggest the opposite.

"Teens and young adults who use Juul brand e-cigarettes are failing to recognize the product’s addictive potential, despite using it more often than their peers who smoke conventional cigarettes," the release stated.

Of the 445 participants surveyed, 15.6 percent reported having tried the JUUL and 24.3 percent reported having smoked conventional cigarettes.

Almost 60 percent of the JUUL users reported having used the JUUL within the past 30 days. For the cigarette users, 28.3 percent reported having used cigarettes within the past 30 days.

The study is the latest publication to suggest that JUULs are deceptively addictive. The Food and Drug Administration is trying to crack down on illegal sales to minors. 

Last month, the FDA issued 1,300 warning letters across the nation to both online and traditional retailers who illegally sold e-cigarettes to minors. Four stores in Columbia received letters including: Petro-Mart on North College Avenue, Arena Liquor on South Providence Road, the Sinclair Spring Mart on East Dripping Springs Road and Xpress Liquor and Smokes on East St. Charles Road. Missouri received a total of 44 warning letters across the state.

Local parents and community leaders have worried about the device's dangers. Last month, Hickman High School's Parent Teacher Student Association devoted an entire meeting to threats the JUUL and other e-cigarettes pose to students. In addition, MU professors and health professionals have also expressed concern not only for health risks but also for the deceptive marketing JUUL Labs utilized early on.

Of JUUL's almost 20,000 followers on Twitter, 25 percent are under the age of 18, reported a recent study published by the Journal of Adolescent Health. The study followed JUUL's tweets for one year, from February 2017 to January 2018. Of the 1,124 times its tweets were shared, 721 of the shares were by Twitter users under the age of 18.

In response to the study, JUUL Labs released a statement saying "no minor or non-smoker/vaper should ever use JUUL products."

The statement said JUUL has removed "product-related content" from social media accounts.

"Since 99.7 percent of JUUL mentions on Twitter are generated by other users, we have also aggressively worked with social media platforms to remove posts and accounts that portray our product in unauthorized and youth-oriented manners," the statement read. "In just six months this year, we helped remove over 8,000 listings, 450 accounts and 18,000 online marketplace listings."

Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report stating that sales of the JUUL grew 641 percent from 2016 to 2017. The JUUL contains the highest amount of nicotine compared to any other e-cigarette on the market, the release said.

In September, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb called the use of e-cigarettes among minors an "epidemic" and gave JUUL Labs 60 days to present plans on how they will combat its use among minors. Otherwise, the administration will "revisit" the current regulations for e-cigarettes on the market. With just under one month to present this plan, the new evidence of youth addiction poses the question of whether or not it is too late to curb usage among minors.  Enditem