As seen in recent news, Juul has been under fire with allegedly marketing their products to minors.

In response, and with building pressure from the FDA, Juul will soon be restricting their flavored nicotine pods in an attempt to decrease sales to minors.

Current flavors include mint, cool mint, classic menthol, mango, fruit medley, creme brulee, classic tobacco, and Virginia tobacco.  Under new restrictions, Juul has trimmed their menu and will continue to only produce mint, cool mint, classic tobacco, and Virginia tobacco in efforts to eliminate  any flavors that may seem tempting to teens.

Even after increasing the online purchase age to 21, a Juul black market is the source for many teens, through eBay or Craigslist. The FDA contacted eBay to raise concerns about listings of Juul products on its website, resulting in the removal of the listings and the creation of measures to prevent new listings from being posted.

According to reason.com, almost 1/5th of middle and high schools students have seen Juul products used in school. Amanda Hobbs, a GCHS Senior, states “I feel like kids just aren’t thinking about all of the consequences using Juuls have on their body and in life.”

Hobbs is right. One Juul pod equals 20 cigarettes worth of nicotine and brain imaging studies reveal a shocking truth: adolescents who began smoking at a young age have markedly reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, an area critical for a person’s cognitive behavior and decision making. This results in increased sensitivity to other drugs and greater impulsive behavior.