Juuls have been an exponentially expanding product over the past couple years. Their growth is a product of the marketing that is aimed towards the youth, specifically high school and college students. Although Juuls claim to be for ex-cigarette smokers attempting to quit, for some it is the beginning of a detrimental nicotine addiction. Paxx company uses flavors such as fruit medley and mango to appeal to youth.

Paxx company is the company that invented Juul and they have been profiting tremendously off of the flash drive shaped device. They claim to have spent 33 million to stop young Juulers from using their product; however, some are calling this a ploy to give the company a good name due to the fact that the 33 million barely makes a dent in their 16 billion dollar net worth.

There are also a multitude of negatives regarding health. Although Juuling eliminates addiction to tobacco, it brings on another addiction. This addiction is nicotine and with the advent of nicotine replacement therapy addiction is actually on the rise. Through regular ingestion of nicotine, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and respiratory disease exponentially becomes more likely, according to renown cardiologist Holly Middlekauff, M.D. Dr. Middlekauff graduated from M.I.T. and has devoted her studies to cardiology and the negative effects Juuling can have on the cardiovascular system. Also, the solution Paxx Company uses in Juul pods causes withdrawal due to the immense concentration of nicotine in the pods. One Juul pod has the equivalent of 1 pack of cigarettes in terms of nicotine. This excessive amount has gotten Juuls banned in Israel, which was one of the first countries to have Juuls. This is ironic because Juul was invented to aid people in defeating nicotine and tobacco addiction; however, it just creates a new complication for users.

As well as being under fire for the health implications, Juul is being vigorously criticized legally. One ongoing case involves a 14 year old that had a mental breakdown because he lost his Juul. He and his family blame this on the fact that Juul pods are significantly more potent than cigarettes and they make these self-harming weapons easily accessible through the website that has a virtually non-existent age verification system.

Moreover, to explore the possible negative consequences of being caught with a Juul in school, The Bullseye interviewed the school police officer, Officer O’Brien. She said, “once a student is caught with a e-cigarette or oil cartridge they are sent to the assistant principal’s office where punishment is assessed from there, usually resulting in suspension or possibly expulsion for repeat offenders. In addition, those who lend their friends their Juul’s can be charged with culpable negligence if they have a dangerous reaction to the contents. If charges are faced, students can be sentenced to up to 5 years, potentially ruining their lives before they even graduate”.

Additionally, the government is considering taking action against the e-cigarette giants. The FDA just issued a warning to Juul that they need to prove they can keep Juuls away from minors. According to the FDA commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, Juul has reached the level of an epidemic and has achieved this by selling tobacco products that resemble “kid friendly” foods. Furthermore, action is already being taken through the 1300 fines and warnings that have been imposed on vendors of Juul products. More than 2 million high school and middle school students used e-cigarettes in 2017 alone and our government is officially taking a stand.

Paxx company is an organization that is profiting off a dangerous e-cigarette product that is harming people around the world, especially the youth. Although they claim that Juul is a reasonable treatment for cigarette addicts, it is proven that it causes an array of different problems with a multitude of negative health effects. On top of all this, one can get in deep legal trouble if caught with the device. In other words, it’s not cool to Juul!