Benzoic acid, nicotine, glycerol, propylene, plus added ‘flavors’ for effect. Sometimes extra ‘flavors’ are added, such as marijuana or just some more nicotine for an extra buzz. These are some of the ingredients that can be found in a Juul pod from JUUL Labs.
There are many alternatives to smoking in the world. One of these alternatives being the Juul, which is distributed by JUUL Labs. According to JUUL Labs, “JUUL is for adult smokers seeking a satisfying alternative to cigarettes”. Juuls are temperature controlling e-cigs that the user “plugs in” a pod for use. These pods are simply called Juul pods and contain a long list of chemical ingredients some of which are previously stated.
JUUL Labs and PAX Labs are two of the major manufacturing companies for this type of item. Both have similar types of items aimed for adult smokers, but their devices can easily fall into the hands of teens and even children.
You must be eighteen to purchase tobacco products in the United States, but that hasn’t stopped high school students from getting one for themselves. From the halls to the bathrooms of John Jay Senior High School, it is not too difficult to find someone ‘juuling’, whether it be a freshman or a senior. They can be found between bells or during class in groups enjoying their Juuls and vape pens in the bathroom. One can even look on social media -like Snapchat- to find students posting with their Juuls. All a student has to do is find an individual who is 18 or over and have them purchase the product for them. Juuls are sold online, in gas stations and smoke shops all over, making them easy to find. One student who was asked where he gets his Juul pods from said he gets them “from friends who are 18 and through vape shops that don’t card.” Another student added by saying, “the gas station across from the school {John Jay} sells them and people get them from friends and older siblings.”
Although John Jay High School tries to educate and stop its students from ‘juuling’ in and out of school, the efforts have not worked. The school made a threat that they would lock all of the bathrooms but never went through with the threat. All the students that were asked about this issue said they do not feel like the school is doing a good job. Some even said “not at all” when asked if the school is making a good effort.
Students have lost confidence in the school to stop and fix an issue like this. Some students even refuse to use the school bathrooms wanting to avoid e-cigs. Overall, some students wish the school could do more. One student who wants the school to do more in educating the students said that “they used to do two-hour lectures on cigarettes, but those aren’t the problem anymore” and that the school should try something similar but with Juuling and vaping.
One of the key places the school could use to educate the students is health class, which is required for graduation. But the students in the class don’t feel like enough time is spent on discussing Juuls and their danger. A sophomore who just finished the class was asked if vaping or Juuls were ever discussed and she said they were discussed “very, very briefly, but not enough for anyone to fully understand anything about them. We really only talked about cigarettes.” On top of this, many other sophomores who finished the class agreed that they never discussed the dangers of Juuling or vaping. Some even admitted that they wish the class did more to educate them.
If they did discuss the dangers, then students would know how similar to cigarettes the Juuls are. PAX Labs and JUUL Labs have the same warning on their websites saying, “this product contains chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.”
Although the student population may be educated on cigarettes, this education does not carry over to Juuls. Juuls are marketed in a way that makes them perceived as the next best thing. PAX Labs presents their version of the Juul as a very elegant looking and enjoyable item. When asked why they use Juuls multiple people said that they “enjoy the buzz” that they get off of Juuling. This buzz is from the nicotine in the e-cig. When asked what the ingredients were in the Juul, most students lacked knowledge that nicotine is in them. Some will even argue that there is no nicotine in a Juul, but on the contrary, one Juul contains as much nicotine as an entire pack of cigarettes.
In the end, this is a major problem in John Jay Senior High School as well as other high schools across the country. Schools should try new techniques in educating their students because their current tactics are clearly not working.
by Marla Litsky
Sources:
PAX | The Best Portable Loose-Leaf Vaporizer. (n.d.). Retrieved February 04, 2018, from https://www.paxvapor.com/
A. (2012, August 20). Nicotine Addiction and Your Health. Retrieved February 04, 2018, from https://betobaccofree.hhs.gov/health-effects/nicotine-health/index.html
Introducing JUUL - A Real Alternative to Cigarettes. (n.d.). Retrieved February 04, 2018, from https://www.juulvapor.com/
Mavadiya, M. (2018, January 30). What is JUUL? All about the new e-cigarette vaping trend. Retrieved February 04, 2018, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5101153/What-JUUL-new-e-cigarette-vaping-trend.html