The findings align with previous research on e-cigarette and JUUL use in school and further underscore the need for stronger regulation and restrictions on e-cigarettes. An April 2018 Truth Initiative survey of more than 1,000 youth aged 12-17 found that almost one-fifth of middle and high school students have seen JUUL used in school.
“Clearly, stronger regulation of e-cigarettes, including JUUL, are needed from the FDA to ensure that e-cigarettes are no longer designed and marketed in ways that appeal to young people, encourage their covert use, and make it difficult for educators to keep them out of school buildings and off school campuses,” the authors concluded.
As use of flavored e-cigarettes like JUUL and its many copycats has skyrocketed, products on the market today are sold in a relatively unregulated environment and have not undergone an FDA review of their public health impact.
The push to increase regulation is intensifying as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the administration’s intention to remove flavored e-cigarettes from the market and Bloomberg Philanthropies rolled out a $160 Million initiative with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids focused on banning e-cigarette flavors.
While JUUL says they are trying to reach adult smokers who want to switch from combustible tobacco, the company’s youth-oriented marketing tells a different story. Additionally, research from Truth Initiative shows that few adult smokers are using the product and even fewer are using it as a way to quit smoking. Of the 15% of adult tobacco users who have tried JUUL, only about one-third used the product as a way to quit, according to the study published in Tobacco Control.