A product designed to counter the dangers of smoking was instead cleverly marketed at teens and ultimately taken over by Big Tobacco. Juul Labs, Inc. is an American electronic cigarette company that was funded by the makers of Marlboro – the king of Big Tobacco.
Juul targeted teens with their trendy Vaporized” campaign – using glamorous young models and extravagant parties with free product samples. It was an overnight success, so much so that Juul was having problems keeping up with demand. But it wasn’t long before kids were becoming nicotine addicts, showing up in hospital emergency departments with serious respiratory disease. The condition was dubbed “Evali” (e-cigarettes or vaping use-associated lung injury). Some of those patients died. There was also a strong association with vaping and cannabis use.
All in all it’s a huge health problem, particularly with young people who are particularly vulnerable to nicotine addiction and longterm damage to the brain and lungs. Last year, a study from Stanford University showed that young people who vape are five to seven times more likely to be infected with Covid-19 than those who don’t.
This is exactly how Big Marijuana would have acted if we’d voted yes to cannabis at last year’s referendum, despite all the claims, reassurances and smokescreens put up by drug supporters.
Note …
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently deliberating on whether to ban Juul entirely. The FDA has also recently rejected the sale of 950,000 new e-cigarettes brands and products.
Further reading …
The Devil’s Playbook: Big Tobacco, Juul and the Addiction of a New Generation
