FEATURE
A STORY OF A
PUBLIC
PANIC
DOOM
&
GLOOM
JUUL HAS BEEN PORTRAYED AS AMERICA’S VAPE INDUSTRY
BAD GUY, BUT DO THE DOOMSDAY CLAIMS HOLD UP?
BY LEO FORFAR
Every so often, even the most furiously fast-paced news cycle will hold on to a story
for dear life. Despite its constant growth and ascendance into mainstream relevance,
e-cigarette coverage remains somewhat one-sided, with articles only cropping up under
the banner of potential dangers posed.
The prevalence of American teenage vaping has unsurprisingly been branded an
“epidemic” and is inspiring action at both a state and federal level, with constant calls for
greater action from the authorities. E-cigarette manufacturer JUUL has been singled out
as a unique offender.
JUUL has been blamed for everything
from causing cancer to getting teenagers
hooked on combustible cigarettes. By
far one of the most popular e-cigarette
variations, its pod design, futuristic look,
size and ease of use has made it a leading
contemporary device for beginner vapers.
In January, Nielsen measured JUUL as
dominating 49.6 percent of the e-cigarette
market and seeing an astonishing 700
percent one-year increase in sales.
As a centrepiece of modern day mods,
JUUL is an almost universal controversy
magnet with some of the largest platforms
in the US press lining up to take shots.
CNN branded it the “health problem of
the decade.” Business Insider said it was
“taking over high schools,” and the New
York Times called JUUL a “vice teens
can’t resist.”
Overzealous tobacco control groups – the
kind who view vaping of as much a social
evil as smoking – have been a driving
force behind the anti-JUUL movement,
finding all their anti-nicotine anxieties
embodied in one company.
46 | VM18