New study finds teens receive more nicotine with electronic cigarettes than traditional cigarettes

TAccording to a study published Friday in the journal Tobacco Control, users of popular vaping devices such as JUUL brands are exposed to a higher amount of nicotine than traditional cigarettes and older generations of electronic cigarettes.

The Food and Drug Administration is investigating the popularity of juul among teens and teens as part of a larger campaign against the consumption of electronic cigarettes among minors. A 2015 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that electronic cigarette consumption among high school and high school students had tripled from 4.5% in 2013 to 13.4% in 2014.

JUUL and other "pod" devices are popular among teens because they do not look like traditional cigarettes or old-fashioned electronic cigarettes, the FDA said. This has caused consternation among parents and teachers who have trouble identifying devices, which often look like USB sticks.

An e-cigarette heats a liquid often containing nicotine in a vapor inhaled by the user.

The study published Friday focused on 506 patients aged 12 to 21 years. Patients responded to a survey of their use of electronic cigarettes and provided urine samples throughout the study.

Of the 506 patients, the researchers analyzed urine samples from 22 people who had used pods in the seven days preceding the provision of a urine sample because of the short half – life of Nicotine level.

The average nicotine content in the urine analysis was 244.8 nanograms per milliliter. Another study of 55 adolescents who smoked traditional cigarettes revealed a nicotine level of 155.2.

The study also examined nicotine levels in JUUL and several other brands of pods. JUUL was the most popular electronic cigarette brand, used by 79% of patients.

Users of pre-filled pods can inhale, with 10 puffs, 0.77 to 0.85 mg of nicotine. This study is much higher than that of older generations of electronic cigarettes that had nicotine levels between 0.02 and 0.51 milligrams.

JUUL is already under fire from the FDA because of its popularity among minors. In April, the agency warned 40 retailers of the sale of JUUL electronic cigarettes to minors. He also asked JUUL Labs to submit documents explaining why the product is popular with teens.