Juuling Epidemic Seizes Teens
Rachel Shin
Feature Editor
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As traditional smoking in teens has made a rapid decline in recent years, a new nicotine-fueled problem has emerged. Vaping, specifically Juuling, has taken high schools by storm. The Juul, a portable e-cigarette originally designed to help smokers, has been adopted by teens.
The device is electronic and can be recharged. It operates by vaporizing a “pod” of nicotine-infused oil. One pod is equivalent to 20 cigarettes and contains about 5% nicotine. Many teens are unaware of the high levels of nicotine that the device provides.
“I had no idea that the nicotine in Juuls were so high that a pod could equal a pack of cigarettes. I thought they were harmful, but not that extreme," junior Callan Sarfert said. "A lot of people said they were not unhealthy because they didn't contain the chemicals that cigarettes do,” junior Callan Sarfert said.
Many students are not well informed on the full effects and consequences of juuling, as the above quote indicates. This calls for school administrators to work towards educating the student population on the negative effects of nicotine, specifically from vaping, before they are tempted to abuse it.
The juul creates a paradox as it was created to help recovering nicotine addicts, yet it is causing many young Americans to develop that very addiction. Much of the problem surrounding juuling is its social aspect. The devices are small, yet contain high nicotine content. Therefore, they are commonly brought to social events, parties, and even school due to their concealability. This creates the peer pressure that surrounds vaping.
The Truth Initiative, an anti-tobacco/nicotine organization, states that 1 in 5 students have seen juuls being used in school.
“Juuling is actually so bad for you so I don’t think you should do it, but there is definitely peer pressure to do it. People can be really pushy and you aren’t seen as cool if you refuse,” junior Jacob Nguyen said.
However, some students think the recent crackdown on vaping is unreasonable.
“Personally, I think that kids should not do it at school. But at the same time, it’s not the school’s responsibility if kids do it outside of school," junior Riley Coon said. "But also teachers need to stop being so paranoid and being suspicious when they walk into the bathroom and nothing’s even happening.”
“I honestly think juuling is cool,” an anonymous sophomore girl said.
Schools aren’t the only ones identifying vaping as a danger. The FDA recently released a statement saying, “It’s imperative that we make sure children and teenagers aren’t getting hooked on more novel nicotine-delivery products.”'
The FDA has been releasing new policies that restrict the selling of juul pods to minors.
As of now, student support of the juul remains divided. However, parents, teachers, administrators, and the FDA have labeled it as a health threat and are working to restrict students’ access to the device and pods.