Juuls are not cool: Why you should quit your e-cigarette habit as soon as possible
On June 1, 2015, Juul, the famous electronic cigarette, was introduced to the world. Within four years, the Juul and its e-cigarette competitors have become a ubiquitous item embedded in the modern-day culture of high school and college students. To speak to the degree of its impact, it’s hard to attend any social gathering without someone having one on hand. I mean, a Juul and a frat party are practically synonymous. You may have even seen an obnoxious vape cloud drift your way as you walked to class this morning.
While initially marketed as a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes, e-cigs aren’t as harmless as you’d like to imagine. A facade of “coolness” is built into its design and marketing, but the Juul is really the antithesis of what it means to be cool. Regardless of whether you occasionally vape, are a constant user or quit cold turkey yet think about going back, the most addictive “flash drive” known to man is not your friend.
When e-cigarettes first entered the market, they seemed like a promising solution to the specific demographic of adult smokers. Formerly presented as a technological innovation, it’s quite clear in light of today’s news scandals that the marketing grossly underestimated the types of danger involved. The lack of research available on e-cigarettes makes it difficult to properly warn off users, even with all of the bad press flowing in. If you ask a random person on the street whether or not they think traditional cigarettes are harmful, the answer will come as a no-brainer, stemming from the decades of PSAs intended to warn people from a young age. E-cigs are, however, cut more slack than traditional cigarettes. Worst of all, their most common users are of the younger generation. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are “805 lung injury cases associated with the use of e-cigarette or vaping products,” with 18 confirmed deaths. On data received from 771 patients, 38 percent were 21 and under.
The sudden outbreak in lung-associated injuries related to vaping is enough impetus to toss your own Juul in the trash; it’s a wake-up call to users everywhere that they’re much better off without it. No matter how difficult it may be to quit, your health comes first.
Contact Erika Lee at erikalee@dailycal.org .