SMOKELESS & MIRRORS
Trendy Juul delivers nicotine without a puff, but experts warn that it’s still addictive and potentially dangerous
IN 2017, Thomas Wyatt, a film editor based in BedStuy, was smoking up to a pack of cigarettes daily. But when his girlfriend pressured him to cut back on his smoking, he decided to try a Juul, a sleek vape pen that delivers a hit of nicotine without emitting any smoke.
“It definitely satisfies my craving,” says Wyatt, a 29-yearold who goes through a pod of Juul, which contains a cigarette pack’s worth of nicotine, every other day. “I’d like to eventually completely get off nicotine, but it’s worked really well as a way to transition from smoking cigarettes . . . [Juul feels] like a cigarette — it doesn’t look dorky or obnoxious.”
The Juul is the best-selling ecigarette on the market, according to Nielsen data from last fall. Its sleek design and the fact that it doesn’t emit smelly smoke has made it popular with everyone from high-school kids to celebs. It was spotted backstage at Fashion Week, and comedian Dave Chappelle, a former cigarette smoker, uses a Juul throughout his latest Netflix comedy special. But, experts caution that just because the Juul allows users to consume nicotine in a subtle, stylish manner doesn’t mean it’s harmless.
“It may be less bad [than smoking], but the jury’s still out there,” says addiction specialist Brad Lamm, who is based in the Flatiron District and is the author of “Stop It: 4 Steps in 4 Weeks To Quit Smoking.”
Studies by e-cigarette manufacturers have found that vaping doesn’t have the same adverse effects on the lungs as smoking, but Keith-Thomas Ayoob, an associate clinical professor in the department of pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, is skeptical.
“You’re making a deliberate effort to inhale these chemicals, and most users will use them frequently through the day — so that’s repeated exposure day after day,” he says. “That’s not what I would call best practices when it comes to lung care.”
Also, a new New York University study exposed lab mice to nicotine vapor for 12 weeks and found that e-cigs (not specifically Juul) cause DNA damage and could increase risk of cancer and heart diseases.
And it’s not only nicotine that Juul users are inhaling. While the trendy vape’s pods are free from diacetyl and acetylproprionyl, chemicals in some competitors’ products that have been proven to be harmful to your lungs, they still have glycerol, a substance found in antifreeze and some personal-care products such as toothpaste, but which is generally recognized as safe by the FDA. “We don’t know the effects of inhaling these chemicals because they were never designed to be inhaled,” Ayoob says. “And if we want to [have] healthier lungs, the fewer chemicals we deliberately inhale the better.”
Another concern is that Juul’s colorful pods in flavors such as creme brulee and cool cucumber may have particular appeal to teens and young adults, a growing market for e-cigs. In October, Sen. Chuck Schumer pushed for more government regulations, citing info that one in five teens in New York state vape, and mentioning Juul by name. (Juul’s website does have an age verification process to prevent anyone under legal purchasing age to buy Juul through the site.)
No matter what your age, Lamm cautions against using the Juul to quit cigarettes.
He says the best way to cut back on smoking — or vaping — is by going cold turkey.
“Why not really give it a go to stop smoking first?” Lamm says.
And, it’s clear that for many, the Juul is its own addiction. On social media, young people post tongue-in-cheek videos about disposing of the device, showing it tied to helium balloons or strapped onto fireworks, with sad music playing in the background. Such videos have gotten more than 61,000 likes on millennial Instagram account, @TFM, which stands for “Total Frat Move.” That’s no surprise, says Ayoob. “Vaping is a nicotine-delivery system,” he says. “Nicotine, no matter how it gets to you, is an addictive substance.”
Comedian Dave Chappelle used a Juul throughout his recent stand-up special.