Is Juul Targeting You?

When Brennan McDermott was a student at Simsbury High School in Connecticut, he found himself in a situation that seemed right out of a teen movie: “A couple of my buddies were like, ‘Hey, let’s go to the bathroom,’” says McDermott, who graduated last year. “I was like, ‘Whoa, what’s going on here?’ I got kind of uncomfortable  with it. They were all passing it around. I didn’t take it.”

The “it” that McDermott was offered was a small, rectangular electronic cigarette, or vape, called the Juul.

The Juul and other e-cigarettes have become increasingly common in high schools across the country. About 20 percent of high school students have tried vaping in the past 30 days, according to preliminary federal data—an increase from about 12 percent a year ago (see graph, below). And the Juul is by far the most popular brand, accounting for nearly three-quarters of e-cigarette sales, according to Nielsen, a global information and data company.

Many teens say they’re drawn to the Juul because of its different flavored liquids, such as cucumber, mint, fruit, and mango. Plus, the device’s sleek design (it resembles a flash drive) makes it easy to conceal from teachers and parents.

The F.D.A. (Food and Drug Administration) has called the spread of teen vaping an epidemic. And now the government agency says it’s investigating whether the company Juul Labs intentionally marketed its product to youth, which is illegal. The F.D.A. raided Juul Labs’ headquarters in San Francisco in late September, seizing more than a thousand pages of documents to evaluate Juul’s sales and marketing practices.

The agency also announced a plan last month to restrict the sale of most e-cigarette flavors to stores that prevent minors from entering or have a section that’s closed off to minors.  

When Brennan McDermott was a student at Simsbury High School in Connecticut, he found himself in a situation that seemed right out of a teen movie. “A couple of my buddies were like, ‘Hey, let’s go to the bathroom,’” says McDermott, who graduated last year. “I was like, ‘Whoa, what’s going on here?’ I got kind of uncomfortable with it. They were all passing it around. I didn’t take it.”

The “it” that McDermott was offered was a small, rectangular electronic cigarette, or vape, called the Juul.

The Juul and other e-cigarettes have become increasingly common in high schools across the country. About 20 percent of high school students have tried vaping in the past 30 days, according to preliminary federal data. That’s an increase from about 12 percent a year ago (see graph, below). And the Juul is by far the most popular brand. It accounts for nearly three-quarters of e-cigarette sales, according to Nielsen, a global information and data company.

Many teens say they’re drawn to the Juul because of its different flavored liquids, such as cucumber, mint, fruit, and mango. Plus, the device resembles a flash drive. This sleek design makes it easy to hide the Juul from teachers and parents.

The F.D.A. (Food and Drug Administration) has called the spread of teen vaping an epidemic. And now the government agency says it’s investigating whether the company Juul Labs intentionally marketed its product to youth, which is illegal. The F.D.A. raided Juul Labs’ headquarters in San Francisco in late September. They seized more than 1,000 pages of documents to check Juul’s sales and marketing practices.

The agency also announced a plan last month to restrict the sale of most e-cigarette flavors to stores that prevent minors from entering or have a section that’s closed off to minors.

Marketing cigarettes to teens is nothing new. Tobacco companies used to openly advertise their products to young people. By the early 1900s, some cigarette packs included baseball cards, and in the ’40s and ’50s, tobacco ads often featured actors and athletes—even Santa Claus and doctors—happily puffing away (see “A History of Cigarette Ads,” below).

“The tobacco industry has long known that in order to get smokers in the future to be lifelong customers, they have to start them in the teen years,” says Dr. Robert Jackler, an ear, nose, and throat specialist at Stanford University who heads a group studying tobacco advertising. “So the tobacco industry uses many devices to attract young kids. They use images and slogans that suggest that if you smoke, you’ll be socially popular.”

Jackler and others argue that Juul targeted teens the same way—but brought these marketing techniques into the 21st century. They point out that the Juul’s original 2015 ad campaign featured attractive, young-looking models and colorful designs (see “Glamorizing Addiction,” below).

 And many of these ads were posted on Instagram and Twitter, with hashtags like #juulvapor, #juulmoment, and #juulnation that attracted young people and allowed them to post using the same hashtags.

The ads seem to have done the job. An October study by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that almost a quarter of Juul’s Twitter followers are under 18.

A former senior manager at Juul told The New York Times that although the ad campaign wasn’t specifically targeted at teens, he and others in the company were well aware it could appeal to them.

Marketing cigarettes to teens is nothing new. Tobacco companies used to openly advertise their products to young people. In the early 1900s, some cigarette packs included baseball cards. And in the ‘40s and ‘50s, tobacco ads often featured actors and athletes happily puffing away. Some even featured Santa Claus and doctors. (see “A History of Cigarette Ads,” below).

“The tobacco industry has long known that in order to get smokers in the future to be lifelong customers, they have to start them in the teen years,” says Dr. Robert Jackler, an ear, nose, and throat specialist at Stanford University who heads a group studying tobacco advertising. “So the tobacco industry uses many devices to attract young kids. They use images and slogans that suggest that if you smoke, you’ll be socially popular.”

Jackler and others argue that Juul targeted teens the same way. They say that Juul just brought these marketing techniques into the 21st century. They point to Juul’s original 2015 ad campaign as evidence. It featured attractive, young-looking models and colorful designs. (see “Glamorizing Addiction,” below).

And many of these ads were posted on Instagram and Twitter. The posts had hashtags like #juulvapor, #juulmoment, and #juulnation. These social media ads attracted young people and allowed them to post using the same hashtags.

The ads seem to have done the job. An October study by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that almost a quarter of the Juul’s Twitter followers are under 18.

A former senior manager at Juul told The New York Times that although the ad campaign wasn’t specifically targeted at teens, he and others in the company were well aware it could appeal to them.

Juul’s critics also note that the vape’s sweet flavors increase its appeal to teens.

“Young people say that flavors are the top reason they try e-cigarettes,” says Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin, a professor of psychiatry at Yale University who has studied vaping. Experts say teens are also drawn to the Juul “skins” or “wraps” sold by other companies, which sport colorful designs, cartoon characters, and popular fashion brand labels like Supreme and Adidas.

Juul Labs denies that it ever sought to hook teens. The company says its mission since its founding in 2015 has been to get people who are addicted to tobacco cigarettes to switch to e-cigarettes, which have been touted as being less harmful.

“We are committed to deterring young people, as well as adults who do not currently smoke, from using our products,” Juul Labs C.E.O. Kevin Burns said in a statement.

Juul’s critics also note that the vape’s sweet flavors increase its appeal to teens.

“Young people say that flavors are the top reason they try e-cigarettes,” says Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin, a professor of psychiatry at Yale University who has studied vaping. Experts say teens are also drawn to the Juul “skins” or “wraps” sold by other companies. These coverings sport colorful designs and cartoon characters. They also feature popular fashion brand labels like Supreme and Adidas. 

Juul Labs denies that it ever sought to hook teens. The company says its mission since its founding in 2015 has been to get people who are addicted to tobacco cigarettes to switch to e-cigarettes, which have been touted as being less harmful.

“We are committed to deterring young people, as well as adults who do not currently smoke, from using our products,” Juul Labs C.E.O. Kevin Burns said in a statement.

But the attorney general of Massachusetts, Maura Healey, who is also investigating the company, doesn’t buy that explanation. She contends that Juul has been luring teens to try the product and has introduced many to nicotine, the highly addictive substance that’s in both traditional cigarettes and many e-cigarettes.

“From our perspective, this is not about getting adults to stop smoking,” says Healey. “This is about getting kids to start vaping, and make money, and have them as customers for life.”

E-cigarettes were invented in China in 2003 as a healthier alternative to traditional cigarettes. But because e-cigarettes are so new, there isn’t much research yet on their long-term health effects, causing many scientists to question the safety of inhaling the chemicals in them.

But the attorney general of Massachusetts, Maura Healey, doesn’t buy that explanation. She is also investigating the company. She contends that Juul has been luring teens to try the product and has introduced many to nicotine. That’s the highly addictive substance that’s found in both traditional cigarettes and many e-cigarettes.

“From our perspective, this is not about getting adults to stop smoking,” says Healey. “This is about getting kids to start vaping, and make money, and have them as customers for life.”

E-cigarettes were invented in China in 2003. They were designed as a healthier alternative to smoking traditional cigarettes. But e-cigarettes are so new. That means there isn’t much research yet on their long-term health effects. This has caused many scientists to question the safety of inhaling the chemicals in them.

“At this point there’s not a lot of data to tell you how safe these products really are,” says Michael Ong, a professor of medicine and health policy at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Ong believes that the F.D.A. should place stricter regulations on e-cigarettes. Otherwise, he says, we may “rue the day we allowed all this to happen.”

Some early studies on the effects of e-cigarettes do paint a disturbing picture. In August, scientists at the University of Birmingham, in the United Kingdom, found that vaporized e-cigarette fluid is toxic to cells in the lungs that are key to the immune system, inhibiting their ability to protect against harmful particles. These effects, the study says, are similar to those seen in smokers and people with chronic lung disease.

And while vapers don’t inhale the cancer-causing tar and chemicals in tobacco cigarettes, experts say the nicotine in e-cigarettes remains a serious health issue for teens, whose brains are still developing. Research has shown that nicotine may be as addictive as heroin or cocaine.

“The nicotine in these products can rewire an adolescent’s brain,” F.D.A. commissioner Scott Gottlieb wrote in a statement, “leading to years of addiction.”

Indeed, there are concerns that smoking e-cigarettes could be a gateway to smoking tobacco cigarettes. A 2017 study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago found that teens who vape are seven times more likely to try traditional cigarettes than teens who don’t. Studies have also shown that nicotine can increase the risk of high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.

“At this point there’s not a lot of data to tell you how safe these products really are,” says Michael Ong, a professor of medicine and health policy at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Ong believes that the F.D.A. should place more strict regulations on e-cigarettes. Otherwise, he says, we may “rue the day we allowed all this to happen.”

Some early studies on the effects of e-cigarettes do paint a disturbing picture. In August, scientists at the University of Birmingham, in the United Kingdom, found that vaporized e-cigarette fluid is toxic to cells in the lungs that are key to the immune system. This inhibits the ability of the lungs to protect against harmful particles. These effects, the study says, are like those seen in smokers and people with chronic lung disease.

Vapers don’t inhale the cancer-causing tar and chemicals in tobacco cigarettes. But experts say the nicotine in e-cigarettes remains a serious health issue for teens, whose brains are still developing. Research has shown that nicotine may be as addictive as heroin or cocaine.

“The nicotine in these products can rewire an adolescent’s brain,” F.D.A. commissioner Scott Gottlieb wrote in a statement, “leading to years of addiction.”

Indeed, there are concerns that smoking e-cigarettes could be a gateway to smoking tobacco cigarettes. A 2017 study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago found that teens who vape are seven times more likely to try traditional cigarettes than teens who don’t. Studies have also shown that nicotine can increase the risk of high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.

In September, the F.D.A. announced plans to place poster ads in 10,000 school bathrooms, explaining the dangers of e-cigarettes (see photos, above).

The agency also required Juul and four other popular e-cigarette companies to submit a proposal by mid-November detailing how they’ll keep their products away from teenagers.

The F.D.A. is cracking down on stores that sell e-cigarettes as well. It sent warning letters to more than 1,000 retailers, including 7-Elevens, Walgreens, and Shell gas stations, and issued 131 fines for selling the devices to minors.

In response to mounting criticism, Juul discontinued its social media promotions last month. It removed all posts from its Instagram account, which is now no longer active. And in anticipation of the F.D.A.’s planned restrictions on flavored e-cigarette sales, Juul announced last month that it would suspend the sale of most of its flavored e-cigarette pods in retail stores.

The company also plans to invest $30 million over the next three years in research and strategies to prevent young people from vaping.

But not everyone is convinced that a company that has been valued at $16 billion will really try to dissuade people from buying its product.

After all, Jackler, the specialist at Stanford argues, “this company got really rich by tricking you into doing something that you can’t stop.” 

In September, the F.D.A. announced plans to place poster ads in 10,000 school bathrooms. These posters will explain the dangers of e-cigarettes (see photos, above).

The agency also required Juul and four other popular e-cigarette companies to submit a proposal by mid-November detailing how they’ll keep their products away from teenagers.

The F.D.A. is cracking down on stores that sell e-cigarettes as well. It sent warning letters to more than 1,000 retailers, including 7-Elevens, Walgreens, and Shell gas stations. It also issued 131 fines for selling the devices to minors.

As criticism has mounted, Juul has changed its advertising strategy. Its Instagram page now consists mainly of adults who used to smoke tobacco cigarettes discussing why they switched to the Juul. And in anticipation of the F.D.A.’s planned restrictions on flavored e-cigarette sales, Juul announced last month that it would suspend the sale of most of its flavored e-cigarette pods in retail stores.

The company also plans to invest $30 million over the next three years toward research and strategies to prevent young people from vaping.

But not everyone is convinced that a company that has been valued at $16 billion will really try to dissuade people from buying its product.

After all, Jackler, the specialist at Stanford argues, “this company got really rich by tricking you into doing something that you can’t stop.”

With reporting by Amos Barshad, Matt Richtel, and Sheila Kaplan of The New York Times. Additional reporting by Lisa Lombardi.

With reporting by Amos Barshad, Matt Richtel, and Sheila Kaplan of The New York Times. Additional reporting by Lisa Lombardi.