The lack of regulation and enforcement around e-cigarettes opened the door for a proliferation of products. Newer disposable devices have grown in popularity as JUUL halted sales of some sweet and fruity flavors last year under scrutiny for its leading role in the youth e-cigarette epidemic.
Online search trends suggest that disposable e-cigarettes are increasing in popularity. A December article in the journal Tobacco Control, “The rise of disposable JUUL-type e-cigarette devices,” reports that a Google search resulted in 31 brands of disposable products on the first results page, with devices “priced as low as $4.60 with up to 7% nicotine (a higher concentration than JUUL) and advertising 200 puffs.”
These products are priced significantly lower than JUUL, which costs up to $34.99 for the device with JUUL pods sold separately in the U.S. According to the article: “disposable products may surge in popularity with minors and prompt users of all ages to try and become addicted to vaping when they might not have tried it otherwise due to the cost of entry.”