High school students say about 20% of their peers are vaping

Recently, some New Jersey students told “CBS This Morning” co-host Tony Bokoupil that they are skeptical any of the hurdles will stop teenagers from vaping. Kids will just find a way around it. E-cigarette giant Juul Labs has been the focus of the government investigation into marketing practices. The government wants to know how the vaping device is so popular with underage teenagers in the first place.

Many, including politicians, parents and public health advocates, think they are the reason that the vaping craze is so popular with underage teenagers. Juul thinks the accusations are unfair. They have taken multiple measures to deter underage users and are in favor of raising the minimum age for tobacco products to 21.

ID Verification System

CEO of Juul Labs, Kevin Burns, showed off this new system in San Francisco. He has been working with e-cigarette vendors and setting up the ID verification systems in their stores. This not only makes it impossible to buy e-cigarettes but also limits the amount of product they can buy.

When Kevin Burns tried to use an expired license the machine would not allow the vendor to complete the purchase.

More than 40,000 stores have been implemented with these systems. He will stop distributing to any store that won’t comply by 2021. This is the newest way Juul Labs has deterred underage purchases of e-cigarettes.

This specific one came about after a report said that one-in-twenty middle school students and one-in-twenty high school students vaped last year. This caused the FDA to declare teen vaping an epidemic. Previous deters for underage use that Juul Labs has tried include;

• Taking most flavors from stores.
• Shutting down previous social media accounts.
• Shifting its advertising to include people who used to smoke.

Kevin Burns told “CBS This Morning” co-host Tony Bokoupil that while he is not going to take full blame for the underage usage, he is also not blaming the parents. Being just the manufacturers they want to be part of the solution. He does not feel that everything they are doing will make a difference. The numbers for underage vaping could still be higher than last year.

Types of Products

A Juul device heats the cartridge that holds the oils. This creates vapor that then dissolves into the air. The device fits in the palm of a person’s hand and looks like a USB flash drive. The main market for this product is current regular smokers. Other than the Juul device there are other products and manufacturers.

A Vape Pen is a battery-powered device with a tank, atomiser, sensors and battery. These parts work to turn the heated vegetable glycerin or propylene glycol into a vapor. The user than just inhales the vapor through the mouthpiece. A dab pen is used to only inhale dabs which are concentrated tabs of THC. This is different from normal dried herbs or oils. Place thin dabs into the pen and the heated device will turn it into vapor to inhale. The coils melt and absorb the dab. The heated material turns to vapor.

Student Opinions of the New Deterrents

Puszcz, Sebastian and Lauren Groff are going to be seniors in New Jersey’s Sparta High School. They are talking with “CBS This Morning” co-host Tony Dokoupil about the new deterrents to buying Juul. While the three don’t personally use Juul or e-cigarettes, they have friends that are addicted to the products. Puszcz thinks that stricter rules won’t stop the underage purchases.

Kids will just find a way around the new obstacles. They continue that addicts got what they call “nic sick”. Their face is pale, they feel nauseous and start vomiting. It’s a horrible feeling, like getting the flu out of nowhere.

Two of them think that it’s hard to say how many students are addicted but the number is around 20%. Groff agrees but thinks this affects 8th graders, freshman and sophomores more than the upperclassmen.

The school is cracking down on the students smoke breaks by using more hall monitors and sign-out sheets. They are also putting in sensors in the bathrooms. The sensors will alert security and administrators about smoke. The students think that it won’t deter the vapers. They will just find new places to vape.