As the Canadian winds settle upon campus and St. Lawrence students return to the tundra, they are accompanied by clouds of Juul vapor. During the holiday season all across the nation, parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents questioned their college-aged peers about the new phenomenon, “juuling.” Juuling is a code word for a nicotine addiction made possible by the breakout of Pax Lab’s electronic cigarette, the Juul.
Now owned by Juul Labs and valued at $38 billion, the trend of teenage and young adult Juul use is accelerating. In December, Altria, the company that owns Philip Morris (maker of Marlboro), invested $12.8 billion into Juul Labs, after Juul had driven Altria’s electronic cigarette from the market. Juul has made enough waves to prompt the FDA to limit the brick-and-mortar sale of flavored nicotine salts, such as the popular mango flavor. The government argued these products were targeted towards minors. Despite the FDA restrictions, Juul’s growth shows no sign of stopping.
I have conflicted views on the Juul. On one hand, I see the value in the product, as I know it is a legitimate, healthier alternative to cigarettes. According to JuulVapor.com, their mission statement is, “Improve the lives of the world’s one billion adult smokers by eliminating cigarettes.”
On the other hand, one of the main criticisms of the Juul is that it is making people that originally did not smoke cigarettes become addicted to nicotine. Peter Suddaby ’19 writes: “The main danger with e-cigarettes is due to it’s recent emergence in the market. Doctors and Policymakers have little knowledge on the long term health effects that they can inflict. Several in vitro and animal studies have found e-cigs to induce inflammatory responses in the lungs, cancer marker gene expression in the tissue of the mouth, and yes even yellowing of the teeth!” Peter will be writing a comprehensive article for the Hill News in the upcoming weeks!
St. Lawrence is no exception to the Juul craze, where its use seems to be rampant. I asked several students on campus who have or currently juul about their own experiences with the flashdrive-like object. All of the students interviewed wished not to be named.
The first student started juuling in social settings. Eventually, he felt bad that he was constantly asking for his friends’ Juuls and knew someone with an extra unit for sale. This person got rid of their Juul because, “(the) price wasn’t worth it”. However, this student admitted that he still uses friends’ Juuls on weekends. Subject 2 started juuling because they thought it would cut down on their cigarette usage after a friend showed them the Juul. When asked to characterize their use now, they responded that they dislike the amount they smoke the Juul and that they can’t stop that easily with how addictive it is. When asked, “will you ever quit?” Subject 2 replied, “Yes. I can, eventually.”
Subject 3 starting juuling because all of their friends were doing it. They felt a certain peer pressure to buy a Juul. Subject 3 threw away their Juul over winter break as a New Years Resolution to quit. However, their battle is not over yet, as they use their friend’s devices whenever possible.
There is a perception that nicotine withdrawal leads to physical symptoms such as “the shakes.” This is an urban legend; the effects of withdrawal are felt in your mind. If you can get past the first few days, it gets easier.
I encourage anyone who feels that they are beholden to a little metal stick or they are spending too much money on their addiction to consider quitting. It is not a process to be taken lightly and will most likely require you to develop or utilize your support systems.