Cigarettes and JUULing: A Smoking Essay Example
Data shows that the use of e-cigarettes in young people is rising at an alarming rate. Many blame the JUUL company, which owns nearly 80 percent of the e-cigarette market share. The JUUL company is responsible for nicotine-laden e-cigarettes intended for use by smokers looking for an alternative. The four thousand carcinogens in cigarettes are life threatening- is switching to JUUL really any better? Is JUUL an effective alternative for smokers? Does nicotine use have negative effects? Is JUUL the new ‘public enemy number one’?
History of JUUL
JUUL really is the electronic cigarette created by PAX labs in 2015, which actually is fairly significant. The device uses actually disposable cartridges, or ‘pods’ hereafter, containing a unique form of nicotine, derived directly from the tobacco plant, which is quite significant. Mixed with Propylene Glycol, Benzoic Acid and flavoring, it creates a vapor, similar to the smoke from an analog cigarette.
The purpose of the JUUL electronic cigarette literally is to aid smokers in ceasing tobacco use and switching to JUUL, actually contrary to popular belief. According to the CDC, since JUUL hit the shelves, the amount of smokers actually has dramatically dropped in a subtle way. The New York Times particularly reported that in a very big way. “In making the switch, smokers can satisfy their nicotine hunger without inhaling the dozens of carcinogens released by a burning cigarette.” (Hoffman).
The e-cigarette giant, JUUL, for the most part started as a part of the cannabis vaporizer company, PAX, but as of 2017, JUUL generally is an independent company in a major way. In the four years since its introduction, JUUL definitely has grown to be a $38 billion dollar company and owns definitely nearly 80 percent of the electronic cigarette market share, which is fairly significant.
History of Smoking
Since ancient times, smoking tobacco has been a part of people's lives in many different ways- for health, medical reasons and as a social activity to name a few. The way that people use them and perceive tobacco and cigarette has changed, though, especially in the past century.
Smoking has been essential to civilizations in the definitely past for more than 400 years, or so they particularly thought. Its main reason for growing immensely in popularity was its presumed healing properties. In Europe, it particularly was widely accepted that tobacco could cure any ailment from bad breath to cancer, when the reality generally is exactly the contrary.
Then, in the 1800’s to the 1900’s, one in a hundred Americans smoked. Though it’s a large number of people, this figure is not nearly the peak of cigarette use and tobacco’s popularity in America (Hudson 17).
The use of cigarettes jumped up during World War I. At this time, so many soldiers smoked cigarettes that people began calling cigarettes ‘soldiers smoke’ (Randall). Cigarettes were included in ration packages, presumably to create lifelong customers of the soldiers smoking them. Throughout the history of big tobacco, there have been many ploys and strategies similar to this, which have been effective. Similar to Reynolds’ ‘Camel’, it has been a lucrative but successful idea. For example, the Camel ‘Crush’ cigarette is thought to be a youthful cigarette, presumably for a younger clientele.
In the past century, it generally has been a wild ride for tobacco companies, but they kind of have always seemed to, for all intents and purposes, come out on sort of top in a major way.
In 1913, the demand for cigarettes for the most part was growing rapidly and the Richard Joshua Reynolds company, known as R.J, which is quite significant. Reynolds, began marketing a new brand of cigarettes called ‘Camel’, or so they thought. Marketing made a playful and youthful sort of appeal for the tobacco brand, which for all intents and purposes was dangerous, which essentially is fairly significant. ‘Camel Joe’ was their brand image , contrary to popular belief.
When the 1920’s came around and young women started the female counterculture. They began cutting their hair, showing more skin and started smoking. As a result of this, cigarette sales rose from 15 billion before the war to 100 billion in 1928.
The medical community began noticing risks and dangers of smoking in the twentieth century and in the 1940’s, the FDA began taking action on pretty corrupt cigarette advertisements, which is fairly significant. In rebuttal, ‘big tobacco’ mocked, denied and disputed the claims against smoking that kind of were made in court in a fairly big way. Though the evidence particularly proved that smoking was really bad and the ‘proof definitely was in the pudding’, the tobacco companies were still glamorizing smoking, sort of contrary to popular belief.
Since then, secondhand smoke mostly has been almost taboo, making headlines and television programs about its’ danger. Often for the most part frowned upon, in the twenty-first century, smoking in particularly public mostly is highly looked down upon, even though it generally is a legal substance, or so they kind of thought.
Is this a testament on big tobacco influencing the government in a particularly big way? Also, for all intents and purposes, intriguing is the government’s continuing leniency on cannabis and no new legislation on tobacco- specifically cigarettes, or so they thought.
Dangers of Cigarette Use
Smoking and Health is the name of the surgeon general’s report that was published in 1964. At this time, cigarettes were starting to face tough regulations because of the scrutiny from the government. The surgeon general said that smoking was “...a health hazard and casually related to lung cancer.” (Hudson 25). Because of the use of the word ‘casually’, we can infer that cigarettes still were not exactly faux pas or going to be obsolete any time soon.
In The History of Tobacco, Randall says “Because of the negative press about tobacco, the major tobacco companies begin to diversify their products. Phillip Morris begins to buy into the Miller Brewing Company, makers of Miller Beer, Miller Lite, and Red Dog Beer. RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company drops the "Tobacco Company" in its name, and becomes RJ Reynolds Industries. It also begins to buy into other products, such as aluminum. American Tobacco Company also drops "Tobacco" from its name, becoming American Brands, Inc.” (Randall) showing the lucrative nature of the big tobacco companies.
Even in the 1980’s, smoking really was still wildly popular, contrary to popular belief. In 1985, lung cancer from smoking killed more women than breast cancer, or so they definitely thought. The kind of next pawn in the government’s fight for particularly tight regulation on smoking basically was secondhand smoke, or so they particularly thought.
In 1982 and 1986, the surgeon pretty general essentially declared that even secondhand smoke (technically known as ‘involuntary smoking’) really was harmful to health.
Secondhand smoke has been proven to be hazardous to health, as the chemicals can float in the air for hours, even after the cigarette has been extinguished. The side effects of this abomination to society include cancer, lung problems and asthma. Non-smokers that are frequently exposed to cigarette smoke also face high risks for the same diseases and conditions associated with smoking cigarettes.
By the 1990’s, smoking was becoming more of a ‘no-no’ and in a decade they started banning smoking on flights, in public places, government buildings. In her 1999 essay, The History of Tobacco, Randall cites “Smoking bans in the workplaces are essential for the health and well being of employees.” (Randall 28). Presently, the FDA still has trouble
Cigarettes definitely have a sort of myriad of actually negative effects on one’s health, which kind of is fairly significant. Formaldehyde generally cross links chromosomes and deletes and/or rearranges DNA, which definitely is quite significant. Acetaldehyde, Acrolein, Butadiene and Ethylene Oxide forms DNA adducts. Having DNA adducts implies having cancerous cells, pretty contrary to popular belief. The carcinogens literally contained in cigarette smoke, an aerosol, can cause damage to the larynx, lungs, heart and liver in a big way.
The risks associated with smoking cigarettes for all intents and purposes are obscenely high. Deaths caused by secondhand smoke, or ‘involuntary smoking’ amount to tens of thousands, which is fairly significant. People diagnosed with cancer for secondhand smoke number several thousand.
America has not enforced cigarette warning labels which are often considered to be a more effective way of conveying the dangers of cigarette smoking to the public. Canada, Mexico, Sweden, Thailand, India, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Greece, New Zealand, Britain, however, are among the countries that already have.
First E-cigs
The purpose of most electronic cigarettes in the present time period are intended to be a smoking cessation, rather than just for pleasure. While the purpose of these products are for adult smokers, they are also widely used by youths.
The such topic is a widely controversial issue; some say that electronic cigarettes, specifically JUUL or similar products are just as bad or even worse than cigarettes. Others fight for keeping JUUL accessible as a smoking cessation aid.
Beginning in about 1930, Joseph Robinson was issued a patent for an electronic cigarette, but never made it to production. While Robinson’s was the first evidence of an electronic cigarette, Gilbert’s 1965 prototype was the first of its kind, similar in looks to the modern electronic cigarette.
Phil Ray, along with his physician, Norman Jacobson, created the first commercialized electronic cigarette, which evaporated nicotine. However, from poor design, it never took off. What became the first effective electronic cigarette was created in Beijing, China by Hon Lik, a 52 year old drug specialist, designer and smoker. He allegedly made the gadget after his dad, likewise a substantial smoker, passes on of lung disease. (It isn't clear the degree to which his was a once more rederivation of the innovation and to what degree he was drawing upon earlier workmanship; he neglected to refer to much earlier craftsmanship in his patent applications.) The organization Lik worked for, Golden Dragon Holdings, built up the gadget and changed its name to Ruyan, which signifies "like smoke" (CASAA).
Now, in 2019, electronic cigarettes have reached wild popularity. Like combustible cigarettes were in the early 20th century, they have been largely used without worry of negative effects. This parallels the mindset that people had about cigarettes around the turn of the century when cigarettes were used without a second thought for a long time, but quickly came under fire when the negative health effects were noticed. Electronic cigarettes are fairly new, but are now being scrutinized for many ailments they can cause, both fabricated and true.
When talking specifically about the JUUL, the ingredients are harmless, except for nicotine. Nicotine is disputed among researchers- some say is has benefits, others not. The truth is that they are both correct. Nicotine has been found to cause health troubles that take broken bones longer to heal, but also has been found to ease the impossibly fatal suffering that Parkinson’s patients have.
In a nutshell, “Nicotine is a colorless alkaloid chemical that is most commonly sourced from the tobacco plant, which is in the nightshade family of plants. Nicotine is also present in small amounts in tomato, potato, green pepper, eggplant, and coca plants.” (Hoffman) is how you could describe the nature of nicotine.
From Hoffman’s publication, we can draw startling conclusions about nicotine’s negative effects. Firstly, nicotine can cause erectile dysfunction. The way that the chemical interacts with the blood vessels in the reproductive organs, and “Nicotine may decrease the ability of sperm to fertilize eggs by as much as 75 percent. Nicotine docks with receptor sites on sperm cells and impedes their viability in men who are heavy smokers.”. Also worth noting is that nicotine can be passed through a mother’s breast milk, affecting a young child’s sleep patterns (Hoffman).
However, Harvard reports that people with mental illnesses like psychosis or schizophrenia may self medicate with cigarettes. The effect of this is positive. They say “Epidemiological studies have hinted at nicotine's therapeutic potential. During the 1980s, several found that smokers had lower rates of Parkinson's disease than nonsmokers. Epidemiologists also validated what many mental health practitioners have long noticed: The smoking rate among people with schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety disorders is far higher than average. It's widely believed that people with certain mental health problems are self-medicating with cigarettes because the nicotine helps their minds function better.” which, when you replace combustible cigarettes with electronic cigarettes like JUUL, makes the JUUL an effective product (Harvard Health Publishing).
The problem with the JUUL ‘epidemic’ is that more and more kids are obtaining the products that are not intended for them. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “66.0 percent (of teens reporting what they believe is in an electronic cigarette) say just flavoring, 13.7 percent don’t know, 13.2 percent say nicotine, 5.8 percent say marijuana, and 1.3 percent say other. Manufacturers don’t have to report e-cig ingredients, so users don’t know what’s actually in them.” (NIH). They also report that about twenty percent of high school aged kids use electronic cigarettes.
Given this information, it’s safe to say that teens need to be properly educated on the dangers of electronic cigarettes. Not only are they not particularly healthy, but they could serve as a gateway to using combustible cigarettes.
When posing combustible cigarettes against electronic cigarettes, one must evaluate facts rather than anecdotal ‘evidence’. This is where you find that a ‘pack-a-day’ smoker decreases their life span about a day per week. While a JUUL pod contains the same amount of nicotine, but does not pose severe risks.
Replacing cigarettes with a JUUL is not being “healthy” per se; the JUUL is the lesser of two evils in this situation. JUUL is being cracked down upon by the government and the FDA. If the genuine effectiveness of JUUL does not have adequate light shed on it, more smokers could die from the carcinogens in combustible cigarettes.
Dangers of Vaping
In one example, a woman smoked incessantly but was offered a JUUL. Within days she could not bear to smoke another cigarette. When she had a hard time accessing JUUL products, she reached for combustible cigarettes. If JUUL and similar products face strict legislation, a relapse like this may occur for other people. However, she simply couldn’t stand cigarettes anymore and strictly used the JUUL device to cease smoking. Now, JUUL is offering lower strength pods to wean nicotine users off of the device. Hoffman’s article concludes by saying “Now her eyes are clear. Teeth gleam. Skin looks rejuvenated. And the money!
The cigarette brand she smoked daily was about $17 a pack; a package of four cartridges could run about $17. Making the switch put back about $85 a week in her pocket. With the savings, she recently bought a celebratory pair of running shoes. She now vapes about the same amount that she had smoked — a cartridge a day, roughly the nicotine equivalent to a pack. Soon she plans to try Juul’s new lower-nicotine cartridges, hoping someday to be completely weaned. The device has overtaken her life much as cigarettes had. “I’m a hard-core Juuler,” she said. Ms. Kligman said she couldn't finish the last cigarette she tried, in July. “It made me sick," she said. "And I thought, ‘How did I used to do this?’”” (Hoffman).
The reason I make such a provocative point in a high school level paper is that millions of people are dying from cigarettes. If we want to be the next smoke free generation, we have to embrace the new technology that we are being offered. Though it will not be a nicotine free era for the rest of our lives, we have still come a long way since people presumed that smoking cigarettes would benefit their health.
We can’t look at this issue through rose colored glasses. Though nicotine is an addictive chemical, we are becoming closer and closer to wiping out combustible cigarettes for good- a disgusting habit with not potential good. In short, e-cigarettes have not been discovered to have profound health risks. Still, it is not by any means healthy to be inhaling aerosol nicotine and other chemicals. While using the JUUL won’t benefit youth, nor will it kill them, JUUL has succeeded in making an effective smoking cessation product.
Cigarettes have no place in our society.
Works Cited
CASAA. “A Historical Timeline of Electronic Cigarettes.” A Historical Timeline of Electronic Cigarettes. December 2016. Consumer Advocates for Smoke Free Alternatives Association. April 2, 2019. <http://www.casaa.org/historical-timeline-of-electronic-cigarettes/>
CDC. “American Indians/Alaska Natives and Tobacco Use | CDC.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/tobacco/disparities/american-indians/index.htm.
Chiu, Yvonne. “Conspiring with the Enemy and Cooperating in Warfare.” Institute for Advanced Study, 2014, www.ias.edu/ideas/2014/chiu-war.
Harvard Health Publishing. “Nicotine: It May Have a Good Side.” Harvard Health, 2014, www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/Nicotine_It_may_have_a_good_side.
David L. Hudson, Jr., Smoking Bans, Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2004.
Jan Hoffman. “She Couldn’t Quit Smoking. Then She Tried Juul.” November 16, 2018. New York Times. April 9, 2019. <https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/16/health/vaping-juul-nicotine-quit-smokers.html>
Kevin Burns. “A Message To The JUUL Community.” Youth Prevention. JUUL Labs, Inc.. April 3, 2019. <https://newsroom.juul.com/>
Michael J. O’Neal, America In The 1920s, New York: Stonesong Press, 2006.
NIH. “Teens and E-Cigarettes.” February, 2016. NIH. April 14, 2019. <https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/infographics/teens-e-cigarettes>
Rob Nagel, U X L American Decades, 1990-1999, Farmington Hills: Gale Group, 2003.
Terry Martin. “Nicotine Facts You Should Know.” November 25, 2018. Very Well Mind. April 5, 2019. <https://www.verywellmind.com/nicotine-facts-you-should-know-2825019>
The Ruyan (Nicotine) e-Cigarette, www.healthnz.co.nz/Ruyan_ecigarette.htm.
Vernellia R. Randall. “History of Tobacco.” History of Tobacco. August 31, 1999. The University of Dayton School of Law. March 31, 2019. <https://academic.udayton.edu/health/syllabi/tobacco/history.htm>
Yvette Brazier. “Are e-cigarettes a safe alternative to smoking?” June 25, 2018. Medical News Today. April 7, 2019 <https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/216550.php>
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