Juul: The Rebirth of Nicotine Addiction in Adolescence
By Brant Evans - Faculty
Three years ago, a flash drive sat in the Student Life Office lost and found for about a month. We did not realize what this flash drive was until we began hearing about a new vape called a Juul. It was sleek, simple, and small enough to hide easily in a pocket, but familiar enough to hide in plain sight. When you compared this to former vapes that we had seen, it was much smaller and did not create the huge plumes of smoke that other vapes did. It could be concealed when out of use but also while in use. We began hearing rumors that students were using the Juul or "Juuling" (when a product becomes a verb you know that this product is selling successfully) in bathrooms, the library, The Growl, and even classrooms and during assemblies. So, what exactly is a Juul and how has it led us to a place where teen nicotine use is steadily on the rise and students are bold enough to Juul, seemingly, in broad daylight?
Maybe the best way to answer this question is to have you watch this video.
It is important to remember a few things here: One, they were originally marketed toward young people. Their sleek and tech-savvy appearance was paired with typical advertising schemes that scream young adult. Two, these things are filled with nicotine and many teens still believe that there are Juuling options that don't include nicotine. The way Juul advertises with 5% and 3% nicotine is misleading. When the low-nicotine version of your product is still too high to be sold in the European Union, then the idea that your product is "low nic" is farcical. Three, this is not a vapor; it is an aerosol. Similar to what would come out of a hairspray can, this is settling into the lung tissue of its user and we are still unsure of what the effects might be.
What we do know is that they are extremely addictive and that nicotine has a very real effect on the teen brain, including making a teen even more susceptible to other addictions, harming brain development, and altering nerve cell functioning. Check out the link here to see more from the "Truth Initiative". We know that vaping and Juuling also affects dental hygiene. Dry mouth and receding gum lines are just two of the health risks involved. In addition, the FDA recently began looking into a link between vaping/e-cigarettes and seizures .
Lastly, we can't dismiss the fact that teens who start vaping and/or Juuling are four times more likely to begin smoking cigarettes.
This is only touching the surface of what may be coming though. Vaping liquids containing THC are on the rise. With this you have the risks that come with using THC. When you consider that many of those who seek to use THC through their vaping device may have to alter their device we must be cognizant that some of the devices may malfunction. A simple Google search will give you a number of cases in which vapes have exploded in the faces of their users after having altered the device in one way or another. As teachers and parents, we must do our best to keep up with the changing times in order to provide the knowledge necessary for our students and children to make healthy and informed decisions.
Last semester, the student life team delivered a presentation on Juuling, vaping, and other new risky behaviors to the faculty, Tiger Pride, and the eighth-grade class. In addition, we added an advisory discussion on the subject in which, among other things, the students watched the video above in order to debunk the myths regarding vaping. With the fear and uncertainty that we face with this growing epidemic, it is important to know that Darlington is certainly not facing this alone. When Jennifer Rundles, associate dean of student life, and I attended the TABS conference in late November, the session on this topic was completely full of administrators like us looking for answers. This issue will certainly continue to rear its ugly head as we find out more information about the risks of vaping, but we are dedicated to continue to seek answers and to provide the information that our students and parents need.
Additional resources:
https://med.stanford.edu/tobaccopreventiontoolkit/about.html
