VAPERS and their families are suing e-cigarette manufacturers Juul for getting them addicted to nicotine.

Three lawsuits have been filed against Juul Labs involving plaintiffs as young as 15, it has been revealed this week.

They claim in court filings the device is marketed towards teenagers, contain more nicotine than combustible cigarettes – and the resulting addiction is disrupting their lives.

The US vape company has already been at the centre of increasing controversy this year as its products have been slammed by the media, public health organizations and well-meaning parents and teachers for creating an “epidemic” of teenage vaping.

The news is the latest in a long line of controversial headlines for the US e-cigarette manufacturer who has been criticised by the media, government, consumer groups and well-meaning parents who blame it for a so-called “epidemic” of teenage vaping.

The Food and Drug Administration has since been forced to investigate Juul Labs and the nicotine content of its devices as well as its marketing strategies.

Now, according to Wired, three court cases have been filed against the company.
Now, according to Wired, at least three complaints against JUUL have been filed in courts across the country.

The first was filed in April in U.S. District Court by Bradley Colgate of La Jolla, California and Kaytlin McKnight of Arroyo Grande, California. In court documents, Colgate reports that he’s now addicted to JUUL nicotine pods after using it to stop smoking cigarettes.
According to the lawsuit, “the intense dosage of nicotine salts delivered by the Juul products resulted in an increased nicotine addiction, and an increased consumption of nicotine by Colgate.”

Another complaint filed in San Francisco by Carl Cooper said the JUUL nicotine pods turned him from a casual weekend cigarette smoker to an addict.

“Whereas Cooper had never felt the need to smoke on a daily basis, he now finds that he feels compelled to vape JUUL pods every day,” the suit says, according to the news outlet.
The third complaint was filed by the parents of D.P., a teen in New York who became “heavily addicted to nicotine” after he started using it during high school. The JUUL nicotine pods caused him to be “anxious, highly irritable and prone to angry outbursts,” according to the lawsuit, and he performed poorly in school.

His parents moved him to a different high school, but “despite all these measures, D.P. is unable to stop Juuling,” the suit claims. His “urges” to use JUUL are strong that “he is unable to avoid Juuling even though it subjects him to disciplinary measures at home and at school.”

Their advertising campaigns have also come under scrutiny, and the lawsuit filed on behalf of DP’s mother includes images from Juul ads that feature bright colors and a girl who looks in her teens holding the vape.

The lawsuit also points out the device and its pods do not include warnings.

One of its headings makes a bold accusation against the e-cigarettes: “The Juul e-cigarettes’ candy-like flavors and youth-centric marketing efforts, coupled with defendants’ sales practices, have created a youth addiction crisis.

“As a proximate result of Defendants’ misconduct, D.P. is addicted to nicotine, putting him at serious risk for life-long health problems…Health risks aside, DP also faces a lifetime of economic losses needed to sustain a nicotine addiction for the remainder of his life,’ the suit goes on to claim.

Attorneys for DP’s mother are seeking compensatory and punitive damages to be paid to DP’s family by Juul and co-defendant Pax.

The JUUL pods contain 5 per cent nicotine, similar quantities to a packet of cigarettes and the devices which hold them look similar to flash drives, which has been blamed for teenagers being drawn to them because they are easily concealed. The company has recently announced plans, however, to roll out pods with lower nicotine content.

Interest groups, the media and well-intentioned parents are fuelling a moral panic about underage ‘Juuling’.

Hungry for views, many news carriers have written countless stories about the ‘epidemic’ of vaping in schools. Some have even spread fanciful concerns about cocaine e-liquid.

One of the keen drivers behind the moral panic in America has been interest groups like Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. These groups want the FDA to bring in new restrictions that will damage vaping companies.

Juul devices are at the centre of this new moral panic

A moral panic is an intense sense of fear that spreads rapidly through society. It usually centres on some perceived ‘evil’ that will corrupt the well-being of society.

In reality, this perceived evil is nowhere near as common as the blanket media coverage would suggest. In some circumstances, the evil is just a kind of urban legend.

Moral panics can have an impact on public perceptions and political policies.

The moral panic concept has been applied to numerous phenomenon including gangs, terrorism and illegal immigration. Researchers argue that moral panics have shaped laws in all of these areas.

The reality of underage vaping is far removed from the picture portrayed in the media of vape products corrupting vulnerable teenagers.

The overwhelming majority of people who use e-cigarettes are current or former adult smokers.

Research shows that e-cigarettes are rarely used by young people who have not previously smoked. In Europe, fewer than 0.5% of those who have never smoked use e-cigarettes.

An extensive review of available evidence revealed a growing consensus that vaping is at least 95% safer than cigarette smoking.

We’ve decided to compare this moral panic with some other famous moral panics.

Satanic Panic

In 1980, Parents across America were concerned that their child was being exposed to satanic ritual abuse their local daycare.

Their suspicions were ‘confirmed’ by law enforcement using controversial ‘recovered memories’ from children.

A massive trial resulted in no convictions at McMartin Preschool in California, which was the epicentre of the satanic abuse claims.

Today, the affair is held up as one of the most unbelievable moral panics that was driven largely by one mentally unstable parent.

Rainbow Parties

Children and teenagers are at the centre of a lot of moral panics and so is sex.

Another example of teenage moral panics are so called ‘rainbow parties’, where girls apparently wear different coloured lipsticks and, one-by-one, perform oral sex on a group of boys.

We can’t say for sure that these kinds of parties never happened, but there is certainly no evidence that these parties were widespread.

Many sex researchers and adolescent-health professionals say that rainbow parties simply aren’t a big part of teenage sexual behaviour.

Flashing Headlights

Violence also figures prominently in moral panics. And the “don’t flash your headlights” story is one of the most unbelievable.

The story goes that, in order to get into a gang, a prospective member would have to driver around with their headlights off and murder the first person who flashed at them.

It started out with bikers and then moved onto youth gangs in LA in the 1990s, but the story is a complete urban legend.

In more than 30 years since this story first emerged, no police department has recorded a single example of this happening.

Bath Salts

Drugs also make good moral panic fodder. And the moral panic that surrounded the spread of ‘bath salts’ was very intense.

It all started with Rudy Eugene, the man who chewed the face off a homeless guy before being shot dead by Miami police.

The crime was initially blamed on ‘bath salts’ – synthetic recreational drugs that are chemically similar to crystal meth.

These drugs were federally legal at the time and there were immediate calls for them to be banned. But when Eugene’s toxicology report came back it emerged he hadn’t taken any such drugs.

Have you heard of Juuling? I would be surprised if you haven’t.

It’s the latest vaping craze and one that has got a lot of people riled up. You might have heard about Juuling in the latest college campus blog, or in the national press or even in correspondence from your son or daughter’s school.

But what does Juuling mean, and is it something to worry about?

Technically, Juuling just means vaping with a Juul branded device.

Juul make pod mod devices that look like pen drives and can be plugged directly into a computer USB port.

But Juuling has also become synonymous with other types of vaping, particularly when the media talks about underage vaping in schools.

What is different about Juul devices?

Juul devices have the most market share. According to market data, their devices accounted for 33% of e-cigarette sales in late 2017.

Juuls are not like big vape mod devices. They are small and flat and don’t produce large clouds of vapor.

Because they are less powerful and don’t burn as much e-liquid, the pod cartridges that are compatible with Juul e-cigarettes contain a higher concentration of nicotine.

While a box mod vaper might go through several ml of e-liquid each day, the Juul cartridges only contain 0.7ml of e-liquid. Some users will use one of these cartridges each day, but this is unlikely for newer vapers. The e-liquid also has a nicotine salt base, which makes the vapor less harsh.

By design, Juul pod mods very similar to many other mouth-to-lung pod mod devices. But unlike similar devices, the Juul cartridges are not refillable.

Perhaps the main difference between Juuls and other vaping products, however, is that you are more likely to find Juul devices in regular stores and gas stations than vape shops.

‘Juuling in the bathroom’

Juul devices have gained so much notoriety because of their perceived association with schoolyard use and underage vaping.

In some schools, the ‘Juuling in the bathroom’ problem has become so serious that administrators have sent emails home with warnings about underage vaping and a particular brand called Juul.

Some media commentators have suggested that Juul devices are discrete and easy to hide, making them easier to use around school and even in classes.

While tobacco cigarettes use has been declining amongst teenagers, research suggests that many high school students are using e-cigarettes.

E-cigarettes are legally only available to be purchased by adults that are 18 and older. Online stores have strict age verification policies, but the widespread availability of Juul products in all kinds of shops make them relatively easy to get hold of.

Research indicates that the rapid market growth of Juul products has been driven by people in the 18-24 age bracket. Marketed as an alternative to tobacco cigarettes, the products are popular with consciences young adults who are more switched onto the dangers of tobacco.

Is Juuling safe?

Vaping is still relatively new and there is no long-term data about the effects of vaping.

But many experts agree that vaping is less harmful than smoking tobacco cigarettes.

Parents and medical professionals worry about e-cigarettes because, although they do not contain many of the same toxins as tobacco cigarettes, they do contain nicotine.

Each Juul cartridge – which contains enough e-liquid for around 200 puffs – has about the same amount of nicotine as a pack of cigarettes.

Minors should not use vaping products, but several respected health authorities advocate vaping as an alternative to smoking.

Public Health England declared that vaping is “at least 95% less harmful” than smoking tobacco.

The America Cancer Society agrees that switching from smoking to vaping could bring substantial health benefits.

This evidence is only relative to smoking. In addition, some parents are concerned that vaping products will encourage kids to take up smoking.

Teenage smoking has dropped to a very low level. The National Institute on Drug Abuse found that just 4.2% of 12^th graders smoked cigarettes daily in 2017, compared with 24.6% in 1997.

It is not clear what has caused this dramatic shift downwards but the growth of vaping and the perception of cigarettes will undoubtedly have played a part.

Image credit: “Juul in Hand” by Mylesclark96 is licensed under CC