Study Finds 600,000 U.S. Youth Were Daily Juul Users in 2019

A new study has found that the surge in U.S. JUUL sales was associated with a sharp rise in daily e-cigarette vaping and daily tobacco use among youth. The study, “Daily E-cigarette Use and the Surge in JUUL Sales: 2017–19,” which will be published in the June 2022 issue of Pediatrics (published online May 30), notes that the marketing of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, is linked to increased initiation and some evidence of dependence in adolescents. In 2015, JUUL disrupted the e-cigarette market when it introduced nicotine salt technology (effectively doubling e-cigarette nicotine concentration to 5%), and youth-appealing flavors. In 2017, JUUL products led a 40% surge in the U.S. e-cigarette sales. The surge in JUUL sales was associated with increased new daily e-cigarette use among 14- to 17-year-olds with dependence levels similar to new daily cigarette smokers. In 2019, 600,000 U.S. youth under 21 years old were daily JUUL users, the study found. The FDA has responded to this e-cigarette epidemic by reducing the availability of flavored additives to e-cigarettes, presumably focused on reducing experimentation. It has not limited the amount of nicotine allowed in e-cigarettes, as other countries have done, the authors note.

###

The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.