Vaping Injury Warnings Highlight JUUL Addiction Problems Among Teens, Young Adults

While federal health officials are continuing to investigate reports of vaping related illnesses reported nationwide, consumers are being urging to stop using e-cigarettes. However, many teens and young adults are finding that JUULing addiction problems make quitting difficult, if not impossible.

Late last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an update on its investigation into severe lung disease associated with vaping, reducing the number of confirmed and probable cases to 380, based on a re-categorization of other potential incidents that are still being investigated.

In response to the continuing concerns about vaping, state and federal health officials are still recommending that consumers stop using e-cigarettes, causing many teens and young adults to recognize that they are now addicted to JUUL or other e-cigarette products.

News coverage by a number media outlets, including CNN and NBC news, has included interviews with younger users, who are now left with nicotine addictions from JUULing.

Many regular users are just now discovering that there is more nicotine in JUUL pods than in cigarettes, and some are even turning to smoking traditional cigarettes in an effort to lower the levels of nicotine they consumer, increasing the risk of other smoking-related illnesses.

Flavored E-Cigarette Bans in Response to Teen Nicotine Addiction

According to preliminary findings of a recent federal survey, more than a quarter of all high school students have vaped this year. In response to the epidemic-levels of use among the nation’s youth, a number of state and federal officials have announced new plans to ban certain flavored vaping products.

On September 15, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a press release announcing an emergency executive action to ban flavored e-cigarette products throughout the state.

“New York is confronting this crisis head-on and today we are taking another nation-leading step to combat a public health emergency,” he said in the press release. “Manufacturers of fruit and candy-flavored e-cigarettes are intentionally and recklessly targeting young people, and today we’re taking action to put an end to it.”

The announcement came just days after federal regulators announced plans to issue a nation-wide flavored e-cigarette ban some time in the future. However, no details of when that ban would take effect have been released.

Among teens and young adults addicted to JUULing or e-cigarettes, some experts are questioning whether these moves will have the intended impact. Although teens may have ben drawn in by the fruit and candy flavors, those with nicotine addictions are likely to revert to non-flavored e-cigarettes or traditional tobacco products.

A growing number of JUUL addiction lawsuits are now being filed on behalf of teenagers, young adults and other adults who indicate that they have developed a life-long nicotine problem due to false and misleading advertisements made for years about the vape pen, leaving them unable to stop vaping or progressing to traditional cigarettes.