Did you know JUUL implemented a vaping prevention program targeted for use in schools? JUUL is the rapid-rise vaping company that makes e-cigarettes that look like USB units, and vaping liquids with high concentrations of nicotine. It has suffered heavy criticism for its appeal to underage youth and is being investigated by the FDA for targeting underage users in its advertising.

The vaping prevention program, which was created at the start of JUUL’s commercial launch in 2015, has also faced criticism, most recently in an article in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Continue Reading JUUL Has An Anti-Vaping Program For Schools?

An 18-year-old developed wet lung and went into respiratory arrest three weeks after starting to vape. The young women entered the ER with stabbing chest pains and difficulty breathing, which got progressively worse until she went into respiratory failure and wound up on a ventilator.

Doctors diagnosed the young women with hypersensitivity pneumonitis, also called wet lung. In the case study, pediatrician Casey Sommerfeld said, “chemicals in the e-cigarettes led to lung damage and inflammation” which gradually worsened. Wet lung can cause permanent lung damage if not treated quickly. Continue Reading Vaping Teen Goes into Respiratory Failure

Tragic news was released from Florida this week that a man who died on May 5, 2018, suffered a fatal injury from an e-cigarette explosion. The man died from a “projectile wound to the head,” and also suffered thermal burns on 80% of his body. Tallmadge D’Elia, who reportedly worked as a technical supervisor at CNBC in New Jersey, was only thirty-eight (38) years old.

Continue Reading First U.S. Death from Exploding E-Cigarette

In response to growing concern about e-cigarette use by children and teens, the FDA has intensified its enforcement of illegal sales and advertising of new electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) such as Juul, myblu and KandyPens.

The FDA has stated it is committed to decreasing smoking and nicotine addiction in youth under the age of 18 and has launched several initiates to achieve this goal. One is a multi-level plan to reduce nicotine in traditional, combustible cigarettes. This plan, which seems long overdue, does not appear to include reduction in nicotine available via ENDS devices, despite that some deliver as much or more nicotine than cigarettes. The FDA also neglected to extend its ban on the use of sweet, fruity flavors that appeal to children and teens. Juul, for example, comes with fruit-flavored liquid pods containing the nicotine equivalent of a full pack of cigarettes.

Continue Reading FDA Clamps Down on E-cigarette Companies Selling to Minors

The Tobacco Advertising Collection at the Smithsonian Institution contains more than 30,000 examples of cigarette advertising by tobacco companies. Entitled “Not a Cough in a Carload: Images from the Tobacco Industry Campaign to Hide the Hazards of Smoking,” the twelve-part archive series, created by Dr. Robert Jacklar, emphasizes the deceptive advertising practices used to convince people that tobacco products were safe.

Dr. Jacklar, who treated many patients for cigarette-related illnesses and later lost his mother to cancer, is now creating a similar collection—this time with e-cigarette advertisements. According to Jacklar there is little difference in the messaging. He has reportedly collected 13,000 examples of deceptive e-cigarette ads and is vocally adamant that the industry is ignoring all of the agreements and bans that were agreed to by tobacco companies. Referencing the new Juul product as an example, Jacklar was quoted in Smithsonian to say, ““Very clearly, they do the same damn thing today as they did then. The messaging is very subtle, very carefully crafted…to appeal to adolescents.”

Continue Reading E-Cigarette Campaigns are Disturbingly Similar to Banned Tobacco Ads

In late March, several public health organizations and medical groups filed suit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its decision to delay FDA review of e-cigarette products. The controversial decision pushed the deadline for e-cigarette product approval applications to August of 2022 relieving the vaping industry of strict compliance under FDA product standards.

The plaintiffs argue the decision was improper under law, puts public health at risk, and leaves young people vulnerable to the negative effects of nicotine and tobacco addiction. The suit also claims the FDA’s decision prevents access to scientific information about the health effects of vaping.

Continue Reading Public Health Groups Sue FDA for Delaying E-cigarette Legislation