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Lucas McClain started smoking cigarettes in high school, but he switched to e-cigarettes after realizing that the e-cigarette was a safer alternative.
His choice choice became Juul, the king of electronic cigarettes, which comes with a big nicotine shot.
Now 21 years old, McClain wants to quit so much that he gets back to the problem he found faulty: good old-fashioned cigarettes.
"Juul has dramatically worsened my addiction to nicotine," said the resident of Arlington, Virginia. "When I did not have it for more than two hours, I became very worried."
Although McClain knows the dangers of smoking – lung cancer is common in his family – he thinks it might be easier to type a cigarette than his Juul. In addition, his mother keeps warning him of the mysterious vaping-related illnesses that have sickened hundreds of people across the country.
So last month, McClain bought his first pack of cigarettes for years. Then he tweeted about it.
"I bought a Jew to stop smoking," he wrote, "now I smoke cigarettes to stop the juul." He concluded with this hashtag: #circleoflife.
One Juul Pod, which contains about 200 puffs, contains as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes. On stressful days, McClain could finish a module in three hours – and while he and other people realize how much these cigarettes and other electronic cigarettes are powerful, many want to get out.
Some are turning to combustible cigarettes – or taking them for the first time – with the dangerous goal of reducing their nicotine consumption and getting rid of their capsules.
"Is not it ironic that to stop juul I bought cigarettes," says a Twitter user. Another emphasizes that it is "strange" that she used this device to stop smoking, but that she addicted to my Juul I have never been to cigs. "
"It sucks," she says.
Pamela Ling, a professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco, is studying tobacco and its side effects. It is therefore not surprising that some young people come back to the product that they were trying to quit. marketing.
But it's worrying because cigarettes contain toxins and chemicals that are dangerous to health, she said.
Vaping may not be sure either.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating at least 380 cases of lung disease in 36 states – mostly young people – possibly related to nicotine and marijuana spraying. Six people died. California is investigating at least 60 cases.
The trend towards a return to smoking goes against the most insistent public relations discourse in the e-cigarette sector: Vaping helps people quit smoking cigarettes. In fact, San Francisco-based Juul Labs, which controls 75% of the e-cigs market, says in its mission statement that the company aims to eliminate cigarettes by giving adult smokers "the tools to reduce or completely eliminate their consumption.
In an e-mail statement, Juul did not directly address the decision of some of his users to go back to the cigarette, but once again attached to the fact that his products are "designed to help smokers adults to switch from combustible cigarettes to another nicotine delivery system. "
Ted Kwong, a spokesman for Juul, said Juul was not designed to deter people from consuming nicotine or to treat nicotine addiction.
For those who criticize Juul's high nicotine content, Kwong noted that pods had two benefits: nicotine levels of 5% and 3%, which allowed users to customize their "switch path".
On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration reprimanded Juul for promoting his products as safer than cigarettes without FDA clearance. Juul had 15 working days to respond.
The vaping has become a big business and the global market is expected to reach $ 48 billion by 2023.
Smoker or steam, cigarette makers win in both directions. Altria, which markets Marlboro and other tobacco brands in the United States, has invested nearly $ 13 billion in Juul for a 35% stake last year. Altria proposed to meet with Philip Morris International, a unit sold in 2008.
Even though the industry claims that vaping is aimed at adults, Juul and other vaping pens have taken off among young people about two years ago, when teens started taking appliances away. 39 school and that teachers have mistaken them for USB sticks. Students were hit in the washrooms and hallways of the campus, and even in the classroom when teachers were not watching.
The e-liquids inhaled by the devices contain nicotine and are offered in thousands of fruity flavors that appeal to children.
Last week, Michigan became the first state to ban sales of flavored electronic cigarettes in an effort to end teenage vaping. In June, the council of supervisors in San Francisco banned the sale of all electronic cigarettes from the beginning of 2020. Juul defends himself with a vote in November, the proposal C, supported by millions of dollars.
Many former smokers stated that the only way they had stopped smoking was through vaping, but the science is mixed. Some studies have shown that many vapers continue to smoke cigarettes.
The FDA has approved seven smoking treatments, including patches, gums and lozenges. The vapes are not among them, said Dr. Elisa Tong, an associate professor of medicine at the University of California at Davis.
Tong says that vapers may be using more nicotine than they think. She understands why some people choose to go back to cigarettes, but she does not recommend it.
"What they do, is try to reduce the extremely high levels of nicotine," she said. "Unfortunately, manufacturers do not have a manual on how to leave their devices."
Dr. Amanda Graham, Senior Vice President of Innovations for The Truth Initiative, a tobacco rights advocacy group, said she saw "the desperation and misguided approaches" of teens and young adults trying to get rid of nicotine.
"Young people are looking in the dark for what makes sense," said Graham. "But there is no level of safe smoking."
Earlier this year, Graham's group launched a digital program to help teens and young adults give up their vaping devices. Since then, 41,000 people between the ages of 13 and 24 have registered for "This is Quitting", providing them with SMS advice and assistance.
Chris Gatus, of Whittier, Calif., Switched from traditional cigarettes to Juul because he thought the device would help him quit, he said.
But as his Juul is still stuck to his palm, he found himself using it everywhere and all the time.
"I've somehow forgotten what it's like to not take nicotine," said Gatus, 21.
He returned to smoking this year after noticing his growing dependence, but this led him to use both. Now he's trying different vaping pens, looking for something less hard than Juul or cigarettes, he says.
Last week, Ryan Hasson, from New York City, threw out his Juul after experiencing severe chest pains and hard breathing on exercise – and after hearing about the growing number of illnesses related to the vape. He had never felt such strong symptoms when smoking cigarettes in the old days, he said.
"I never plan to smoke again, but if I had to choose, I would much rather buy cigarettes from a Juul," said 25-year-old Hasson.
The same is true of his friends, he said.
"I think a lot of people have stopped smoking altogether or have returned to smoking," he said. "They realize that it may not be as safe as we thought."
This KHN story was first published on California Healthline, a service of the California Health Care Foundation.
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