Over the past few years, cigarette trends have now turned into e-cigarettes. E-cigarettes are electronic cigarettes that are easy to purchase and hard to detect because there isn’t a smell associated with it. JUULing and vaping are the newest “cool” things to do among middle schoolers and up. This article will tell you why JUULing is bad and how to talk to your children about it.
What is a Juul E-Cigarette?
JUUL is a coming that created cheaper and “safer” alternative to traditional tobacco cigarettes. Because of the way they look, it has attracted more of a younger audience.
These pods contain ingredients like glycerine, propylene glycol, extracts and flavor, benzoic acid, and nicotine. Overall, they don’t sound too bad and that is the point. However, when you investigate them, there are some hidden chemicals in there that many don’t know about.
Did you know what Propylene Glycol is? This is an odorless, colorless, synthetic liquid that helps absorbs water. This chemical was deemed safe however, it needed additional research to determine the effects it has on humans. At the same time, it has been in studies where glycol-based fog like in the JUUL, have been linked to acute and chronic respiratory effects.
In 2018, a study in Pediatrics found that any tobacco and e-cigarettes (any type of flavor), contain very high amounts of cancer-causing chemicals. To many, it is a no brainer that smoking cigarettes cause cancer. That is something that is taught in school – not to smoke cigarettes because they cause cancer. But what they’re not teaching is that e-cigarettes use harmful chemicals that when inhaled into the throat and lungs have cancer-causing chemicals too.
With all that in mind, children who use e-cigarettes have a 30% higher chance of turning to traditional cigarettes within 6 months of starting with these.
JUUL is extremely unhealthy
Smoking a JUUL is worse than smoking a cigarette! Can you believe it? The deceiving message behind electronic cigarettes is that they are less harmful than cigarettes because they’re not an actual cigarette. However, what many don’t know is that smoking one JUUL pod contains around 20 cigarettes worth of nicotine! This is equivalent to up to two packs of regular cigarettes.
Did you know that in 2017 a report found that 3 out of every 100 middle school students reported using electronic cigarettes? Every 3! That is a seriously alarming number for middle school. We’re talking 12-15-year-olds here. At the same time, they reported that 12 out of every 100 high school students reported using e-cigarettes as well.
Like mentioned above, many children take to e-cigarettes because they are marketed well. These companies like JUUL target the younger audience with flashy packaging and cool advertisements to catch the younger generations eye. It also helps that the e-cigarette doesn’t smell like smoke, making it difficult to detect the usage.
Side effects of JUULing
Just like cigarettes, there are side effects. Some of the short-term side effects include but are not limited to: dry mouth, dizziness, coughing, dry skin, itchiness, dry eyes, insomnia, nosebleeds, bleeding gums, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure. Along with the short-term side effects, there are more dangerous long-term ones. Here are just a few: deterioration of lung tissue, effects on brain development, lung disease, chronic bronchitis, insulin resistance.
Are these things that you want your middle schooler to bring onto themselves just to be cool? Nothing like this is shown in any of the advertisements put out by the companies. Make sure you are the voice of reasons moms!
Talk to your kids!
When children get into middle school, they start to try new things and start talking less and less. Making new friends with kids they have never seen before. Being in elementary school, they’re in the school with the same kids for 6 years. Being able to talk to your children about the dangers of cigarettes, alcohol and sex are something that needs to happen as soon as you can.
Middle school, they have no idea who these new kids are and neither do you. It makes it harder for you to know if the kids they are hanging out with are good or bad influences. Unfortunately, this is when things start to really change. Encourage your children to talk with you every night and tell you what is happening. Make sure to be monitoring their social media presence and cell phones. It may seem like being a protective parent, but in the long run, it will help them stay out of trouble.
This infographic from ConsumerSafety.org has some great talking points to review with your children included below. Go over this with your children. Teach them the negatives about this “cool” product they have just found out about.
Moms, take a stand!
These products are being advertised to young kids as something that is inexpensive and safer! Many people have filed lawsuits against JUUL because they claim it has caused them many health problems along with nicotine addition and injuries from the device malfunctioning.
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