In early 2015, a group of people from a startup company in San Francisco, Ca. reviewed the marketingstrategy for its sleek new electronic cigarette, called JUUL. They talked about the name of the gadget, meant to suggest an object of beauty and to catch on as a verb — as in “to JUUL”.
While the campaign wasn’t targeted specifically at teenagers, they were aware it could appeal to them.
After JUULs went on sale in June 2015, the company quickly realized that teenagers were, in fact, using them because they posted images of themselves vaping JUULs on social media. JUUL (e-cigarettes) are battery-powered devices that can deliver vapors from flavored nicotine sold in JUUL Pods.
JUULs do not look at all like other e-cigarettes. Small and sleek, a JUUL looks a lot like a computer flash drive. This makes it tricky for adults to recognize them right away as vaping tools. JUUL devices are easy to hide in a fist or a pocket. They can even be plugged into a laptop’s USB slot to recharge.
JUULs come in flavors that appeal to kids. JUUL “juice” pods come in mango, cool mint, fruit medley and other flavors.
For any years, tobacco companies have used candy-like flavors to attract young people to smoke. According to research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), middle- and high-school students say that flavor is a big reason they use e-cigarettes.
According to the CDC, a single JUUL pod can contain as much nicotine as a pack of 20 regular cigarettes. The vapor from an e-cigarette is not harmless. It contains ingredients that can harm brain development, which continues until about age 25. Young people who use e-cigarettes may also be more likely to go on to use regular cigarettes.
What can parents do?
• Learn about the different shapes and types of e-cigarettes, and the risks of e-cigarette use for young people.
• Talk to their children about the risks of e-cigarette use among young people. Express firm expectations that their children remain tobacco and nicotine free.
• Set a positive example by being tobacco and nicotine free.
For more information on JUUL, contact Lynn McCafferty, Director of the Mississippi Tobacco-Free Coalition of the Attala, Leake, and Winston Counties at 662-312-1549.
The Mississippi Tobacco-Free Coalition is funded by a grant from the Mississippi State Department of Health.
Information for this article was taken from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention website.
