7A: Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Cutting down on use of Nicotine-Addictive Vape Pens

· Opportunity: Every day in the United States, young adults and even kids under the age of 18 are using vape pens, juuls, or other e-cigarettes and contracting nicotine addictions.

· The Who: Young Adults and teenagers

· The What: Young adults and teenagers are getting addicted to nicotine at ages where brain development is still occurring

· The Why: Vaping is seen as “cool” or “trendy” and is advertised as being healthier than cigarettes. Flavors like “mango” or “cotton candy” are used to target a younger consumer base.





· Testing the who: Young Americans are not the only ones experiencing this issue; many young adults around the world have seen society shift away from cigarettes and turn to vapes. Some older age adults or former cigarette smokers now smoke vapes, but the real issue is the age of some vape users. Facts to support this include that 25% of people aged 15-24 surveyed by www.truthinitiative.org recognized the popular vape “the Juul” and 63% of people aged 15-24 did not know the product contained nicotine at all.

· Testing the what: Youth in America have become prey to tobacco and nicotine companies once again. The advertisers strongly show juuling as being “cool” and “trendy” and much safer than smoking cigarettes. While the juul may not contain as many harmful chemicals as cigarettes, it still contains the highly addictive chemical nicotine and scientists and researchers are still not sure the long-term effects/consequences of smoking the Juul. However, what is known is the effect of nicotine on young developing brains; it’s not a positive effect at all.

· Testing the why: Why people juul varies on a person to person basis. Knowing the consequences of nicotine addiction and being willing to accept the unknown future consequences of vape smoke all for the purpose of fitting in with the latest trend or getting “a buzz on” seems childish and immature to me. Some people say it helps with stress or even they just like to do it. Again, due to advertisements targeting a younger consumer base, the rise of nicotine addictions and vape-users has increased dramatically and not enough is being done to combat this wide-ranging health issue.





· Interview #1

o In this interview, I found that this young male in college got into juuling this year after smoking some at a few bars he went out at. He said to me that he knows that it’s not the best for him, but that he rationalizes it through telling himself that it could be cigarettes which is worse. He laughed when asked why he continues to do it and told me he didn’t really know. He thinks he is definitely addicted because every time he is stressed, consumes alcohol, or is even just bored, he finds himself reaching into his pocket to take out the Juul. He says he would like to stop, and that he thinks its “pretty messed up” that so many middle school and high school aged kids are getting nicotine addictions as a result of flavors like mango and crème brulee. This definitely constitutes a need for stronger regulations on the sale of this products to minors.

· Interview #2

o In this interview, I interviewed a female classmate who has a middle school aged brother. She expressed to me her concern that her brother’s friends juul and are encouraging him to do the same. She referenced many conversations she has had with him warning him of the consequences of such actions. She does not know for sure or not whether he juuls too. She has not found him doing so or found him with any products related to the juul or vape, but she still harbors concerns. She agrees with the notion that companies selling vape products should not have flavors that target younger consumer bases. This proves the need for the stopping of these companies targeting younger consumer bases.

· Interview #3

o In this interview I had a conversation with a close family friend who is a licensed pediatrician. She has three decades of experience being a pediatrician but says that this issue has only arisen the past few years with a real rise last year continuing into this year. I facetimed with this person, and she told me that while vaping is an alternative to smoking, there is little to no evidence suggesting that is a healthy alternative. She also strongly advised against anyone using vapes or the Juul before they are fully grown as nicotine can harm brain development. This again proves there is a need to stop the sale of these products to minors and younger children.

· Interview #4

o This person I interviewed is a college age female who does not vape or juul herself at all but has many friends that do. She worries about their long-term health but has not said anything to any of them personally because she believes the trend of vaping will die out soon. She considers it interesting that other countries such as Israel are outlawing the juul and thinks it “wouldn’t be the worst thing” to see that happen here in the United States as well.

· Interview #5

o This interview was conducted between an adult male and me. This adult male said that he grew up when cigarettes were really popular and got into smoking at the age of 16. He said that he has seen juuls more frequently at bars now and has smoked them and was surprised by the strength of the nicotine in them and said, “it feels exactly like hitting a cigarette”. When asked his viewpoint about how these products should be handled considering the youth, he responded quite strongly saying, “there’s no way people who don’t smoke already should use these. They will 100% become addicted to nicotine.”





· Given all of the interviews I conducted, I was surprised to find the public support for stopping the sale of these products to minors. I knew that the Pediatrician I interviewed would obviously not support minors using the Juul or any other vape, but I was truly surprised to see that all of my interviewees felt the same regardless of age. I think this shows a clear need to stop the sale of these products to minors and non-cigarette smokers alike.