In 2015, nicotine use was down. And then Juul came around.

Sure, other e-cigs existed before 2015, but no one really dominated the market like Juul. That's because Juul knew who they could market to, to become successful: teens. To show just how successful Juul has been since its 2-year inception just look at their employee growth: In September 2017 Juul only had 200 employees, in May 2018 that number doubled to 400, and by September 2018 that number quadrupled to 800!

Ironically, e-cigs were developed to help smokers quit, but instead, Juul reached an entirely different market. More than 30% of teens who use e-cigs started smoking in 6 months. 6 months! Instead of weaning people off of their dependence, Juul's e-cigs created dependence in a whole new market.

Teens have been exposed to advertisements that promote both the cool appeal of juuling as well as marketing it as both approachable and accessible. This generation has been raised to understand that smoking cigarettes are not only uncool but extremely detrimental to our health. But Juul found a way to convince many teens otherwise.

Juuls are advertised as sleek and easily concealable, virtually scentless to the point where it can be passed off as perfume, and it tastes sweet, it isn't harsh like a cigarette's nicotine. But none of this really says what it needs to: that Juuls actually contain nicotine. In fact, a 2017 study found that 63% of young adults and teens did not understand that Juul contains nicotine. Unfortunately, manufacturers don't have to report e-cig ingredients, so users don't know what's actually in them.

But the FDA has made it clear: Juuls are harmful, but despite that, the interest in them has grown. A majority of my friends use them and have used them since their conception in 2015. They told me that they were safer than hookah (which turns out, hookah is pretty harmful) and that they were easier to conceal than cigarettes. I had and never have been all that interested in cigarettes and couldn't be persuaded to try juuling. And thank God.

The dependence on these devices are intense and it is an expensive commitment. Recently, the FDA stepped in after recognizing how easy it was for teens to access this product thanks to advertisements and the placement in retail stores and began drafting measures that would make it harder for teens to access the products. Before these measures could be rolled out, Juul bowed to the pressure and announced that they would suspend selling most of their flavors in stores.

If you are still juuling, ask yourself: are you dependent on this product or are you using it to fit into the "college culture"? If you're choosing to Juul because it looks and feels cool, you are compromising your health to put on a persona. And for that reason, I will not be attending your early funeral.