The Concequences Of The Rising Market Of Juul

As the United States progresses through the digital age, new technology is being introduced at a such a fast rate that Americans can hardly keep up. One product that Americans are hearing more and more about every day is the newest e-cigarette: Juul. Cigarettes have been around for quite a long time, so those are nothing new to Americans; however, the e-cigarette market has taken off in just the few years it has been around. The Juul is a sleek device that the common people often mistake as being a USB drive, so the increasing presence it is taking across the nation is not always easy to recognize. One demographic that is all too familiar with this product are teenagers. Juul has devised one of the most brilliant economic marketing plans of the twenty-first century. With this in mind, Americans can start to see that the rising market of Juul is a major issue since the effects of them are unknown, companies are secretly marketing towards teenagers, and there's hardly any FDA regulation.

The first fact to realize is that since the Juul craze is so new, there are essentially no studies showing the long-term ramifications of this new form of smoking. This scenario is analogous to the popular smoking craze during the 20th century. There were very few studies published to prove how harmful the carcinogens in cigarettes were. To combat the few studies that were circulated, the marketing campaign for conventional cigarettes would, “devise advertising referring directly to physicians. As ad campaigns featuring physicians developed through the early 1950s, tobacco executives used the doctor image to assure the consumer that their respective brands were safe”. This type of advertising is very dangerous to the public because it is basically purposely distributing misinformation so big tobacco companies can make a quick buck. Similarly, this is happening to a less extreme with companies like Juul Labs. Since the Juul does not contain as many chemicals as traditional cigarettes, the company is advertising the Juul like it is a safe product that will not cause any harmful health effects. When in reality, “The long-term health risks of e-cigarettes remain to be defined, and actual use patterns are still emerging”. This is good news for the economic and marketing side of e-cigarette companies because they can continue to get teens across the nation infatuated with this new societal fad. Therefore, if the current marketing campaign for e-cigarettes does not see any revision then America is going to go through a very similar pattern that occurred in the 1950s.

Given the fact that the consequences of Juul are unknown, the clandestine marketing efforts towards teenagers is extraordinarily remarkable. Juul Labs claims to only be trying to target current adult smokers. However, the side of the story that is essential to understand is that, “The former Juul manager, who spoke to The New York Times, said that within months of Juul’s 2015 introduction, it became evident that teenagers were either buying Juuls online or finding others who made the purchases for them”. This may not have been a plan that Juul was intending, but they are certainly not against it, given the amount of revenue they are bringing in from this illegal marketing tactic. Furthermore, Juul was facing a plethora of criticism for the appealing names of their pod flavors. In fact, “pods filled with nicotine liquids are available in sweet flavors like crème brûlée and mango, which critics say appeal to young people, not the adult smokers Juul says it's trying to convince to switch”. This is just one of the small marketing tactics that Juul Labs has implemented in order to target teenagers. The supporters of Juul claim that just smoking so liquid and nicotine is not harmful, but when considering this argument, the bigger picture needs to be taken into consideration. Nicotine is a highly addictive chemical, so, “while some hope that e-cigarette use can promote smoking cessation or shift smokers to less toxic products, others worry that many youth will initiate nicotine addiction and that use of e-cigarettes will discourage successful smoking cessation”.

The goal of companies like Juul Labs is certainly not to encourage smoking cessation since that would put them out of business. Their goal is to introduce a new form of smoking that has not yet been deemed deadly to make a profit. Unless government agencies step in to regulate e-cigarettes like they did with normal cigarettes, the epidemic will only continue to grow. Without a doubt, the most significant concept about the Juul fad is how few regulations are placed on them. The current marketing infrastructure does not require visitors of e-cigarette sites to verify they are of age. This allows minors to become informed on e-cigarettes and in some cases even purchase them. The adolescents that visit these websites allow them to, “freely explore information about e-cigarette products that could appeal to this vulnerable population, such as flavored e-juice”. This is dangerous because this point is where the continuous cycle of nicotine addiction begins. The marketing program of companies like Juul Labs allow them to hook kids early and keep them as customers for life. Due to the growing epidemic of e-cigarettes, the FDA has finally been called on to properly regulate these products. These may very well prove to be detrimental to health in the future and allowing Americans, especially teens, to get addicted to them is not in the best interest of the country. To reiterate, the commissioner of the FDA stated, “that he was worried about the effects of nicotine in e-cigarettes on the developing brain and that a proportion of teenagers who use the devices will end up on regular cigarettes”. This leads to the understanding that the Juul is not necessarily a safe alternative. The marketing practice of targeting teens really is just a deadly alternative to traditional smoking.

The FDA is looking to eliminate the teenage vaping epidemic so one plan they are considering is taking away flavored cigarettes. In fact, the FDA announced that, “the agency will consider steps that could lead to the temporary or permanent removal of flavored products from the market”. While this would be a huge blow to the companies, it would certainly help to keep teenagers away from products meant for adult smokers. Therefore, if the FDA is looking to end the massive fad of vaping, putting serious regulations on the marketing of Juul will help them achieve that goal.

Given these points, Americans can recognize that the marketing strategy of Juul is turning to an epidemic since the effects of them are unknown, companies are secretly marketing towards teenagers, and there's barely any FDA regulation. If the government is looking to curb Juul Labs money-making intentions then it will need to take some serious steps. Teenagers are falling victim to an alternative form of smoking that is harming their health in unknown ways. This device can too easily be hidden from schools and parents that many Americans may be unaware that a lot of underage teenagers use the Juul. America is no stranger to the smoking epidemic. As aforementioned, cigarettes were often portrayed as healthy in the 20th century, until an abundance of studies were published describing the harm they brought to human health. The marketing ploy that Juul is advertising now is just a watered down version of before. They take advantage of the few economical restraints of e-cigarettes to sell their product to minors. So, it’s easy to see that this concern must be taking seriously. After all, history often repeats itself, it is just the names and dates that change.