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The popularity of Juul and its nicotine-rich pods is boosting nicotine levels in this sector, according to what Stanford researchers call a "nicotine race," according to a new study. The findings corroborate the suspicions that Juul's competitors are watching the vaping giant closely to take advantage of the multi-billion dollar, unregulated e-cigarette market.
Researchers at Stanford Research on the impact of tobacco advertising have investigated nicotine levels reported by Juul imitators. They studied Juul-compatible pods or Juul-type imitations, as well as electronic juice bottles for pods and refillable vapes. Their study, published Wednesday in the newspaper Tobacco control and first covered by CNN, indicates that prior to the creation of Juul, most vape juice ranged between 1 and 2% of nicotine, of which 3% was intended for heavy smokers. But these days, the products advertise high concentrations of nicotine, often in child-friendly flavors and at lower prices than the Juul brand.
Since Juul entered the scene in 2015, the company has been a resounding success – surpbading competitors such as Vuse's Vape range to dominate more than three-quarters of the market. The last few years have also seen an increase in the number of secondary and middle school children leaving, a record 3.6 million this year. "We began to understand that Juul's success had resulted in a fundamental shift in the electronic cigarette market," said Robert Jackler, Stanford professor and senior of the study. The edge. "And many other companies have started to imitate Juul in several important ways."
Jackler and Divya Ramamurthi, also at Stanford, began to examine how Juul's competitors were trying to copy the vaping giant. Some companies have imitated the discreet design of Juul. But others have also reproduced what was in the interior This small device: the patented nicotine salts by Juul – a type of nicotine that looks more like a cigarette when inhaled. This differs from previous generations of vows that use nicotine free base – a more severe form of nicotine that is more common in cigars. Nicotine salts being easier to inhale, electronic juice manufacturers like Juul can afford to increase the nicotine dose without making the experience of nasty vaping.
Researchers have shopped and searched online for pods that presented themselves as Juul-compatible, high-dose nicotine e-liquids, and Juul-like pods. They found 14 companies selling nicotine salt capsules compatible with a Juul, many of which were cheaper than Juul products. All came in a mild, child-friendly flavor and all contained high doses of nicotine 5% or more of nicotine volume. (The problem with Juul is that he reports that the nicotine dose for most of his American pods is 5% nicotine a year. weightwhich makes comparison with other products difficult.)
They also manufactured 39 devices similar to Juuls, including reusable, non-reusable and disposable vapes. Once again, all the pre-filled pods of these vapes are offered in child-friendly flavors, contain more vape juice than Juul pods and also announce equivalent or superior levels of nicotine. Regarding the bottles, Jackler and Ramamurthi found 71 brands offering bottles of e-liquids with nicotine salts containing high concentrations of nicotine.
Gideon St. Helen, a researcher in the tobacco field at the University of California at San Francisco, says that for low power devices like Juul, need a higher nicotine vape juice to provide enough nicotine in the aerosol. Low-nicotine liquids, on the other hand, are typically used in very powerful mods producing a large plume, he said in an email to The edge. "The important question is which of these scenarios is the least damaging?" Says Ste Helen. "My bet is that a low-alcohol, high-nicotine electronic cigarette is less harmful to users than a low-nicotine energy-intensive electronic cigarette."
Jackler admits that Juuls can be a little less harmful than more powerful vapes. "These large devices with large coils and high power actually produce more toxic substances," he says. (However, he says, "there is nothing natural about breathing propylene glycol and glycerin, or flavoring chemicals.") Regarding Jackler: nicotine is a poison and all little ones like to stuff things in their mouths. Despite the severe warnings from the Food and Drug Administration that vape juice should not look like food or sweets, many bottles were well packaged and contained sweet flavors, the study said. "One teaspoon contains enough dose to kill 5 young children," Jackler said.
For what is worth it, Juul also does not seem to like the rise of its pretenders. After all, cheap imitations are bad for businesses and their proliferation could harm the image of society, which has already suffered a major shock because of the popularity of this device among young people. "The JUUL-compatible products described by Dr. Jackler and his team appear to be illegally on the market as they were first marketed after August 2016," Juul spokeswoman Victoria Davis said in a statement. This date is important because any product marketed after August 2016 is expected to get approval from the Food and Drug Administration before ending up on the shelves. "We believe that any product illegally on the market should be removed immediately."
According to a recent press release, Juul is suing companies that manufacture counterfeit devices and modules. And in October, Juul filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission about companies that she claims violate Juul's patent. Davis also said that Juul was not the first to market nicotine salts. RJ Reynolds Vapor Company, for example, was already selling Vuse Solo, a product containing 4.8% nicotine salts, according to company spokesman Michael Shannon. But Jackler points out that at the time, these salt-based products were the exception – they are becoming the rule. "The motivation of those who introduce products containing a lot of nicotine salts was really not well established before Juul was already clearly becoming a viral product," he says.
Jackler and Ramamurthi propose some solutions for public health. There is an urgent need to regulate high-volume, high-nicotine vape juice bottles so that young children can not inadvertently eat them. The team also suggests totally banning child-friendly flavors in nicotine-containing vape juice and offering high-dose products like Juul only with a doctor's prescription. "We urgently need to put in place a series of effective policies," says Jackler, "which will stem the flow of these captured by young people."
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