He Started Vaping As A Teen And Now Says Habit Is 鈥業mpossible To Let Go鈥
Julien Lavandier, a Colorado State University student, started smoking e-cigarettes as a high school sophomore. He says he's now hooked on Juul and has been unable to quit. (John Daley / CPR News)
The debate over the health risks of Juul, vaping and e-cigarettes is now spilling into the public square.
In one of the most restrictive measures nationwide, San Francisco voters this week upheld by what looks to be a large majority 鈥 in a preliminary tally 鈥 a ban on the sale of flavored vaping products, as well as conventional menthol cigarettes.
Even before that, federal agencies had launched a wave of against retailers that sell e-cigarettes, including the popular Juul brand, to minors. Public health advocates and officials worry these sales could be an emerging disaster, reversing years of declines in smoking.
E-cigarettes can be tiny 鈥 they might look like a pen or flash drive. When someone vapes, there鈥檚 no fire, ash or smoky odor. Instead, the devices heat up and vaporize a liquid or solid. And vaping appears to have taken off among young people.
鈥淏elieve it,鈥 said Julien Lavandier, 21. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a habit for me, you know 鈥 all the time, when I set down my schoolwork to do homework, take a rip of the Juul. When I get in my car, take a rip of the Juul.鈥
Lavandier, now a student at Colorado State University, started vaping when he was a sophomore in high school. He said he鈥檇 go to parties where it was common to smoke an e-cigarette.
鈥淎t first,鈥 he said, 鈥渋t was a lot of, you know, chasing flavors, or doing smoke tricks and that was really what impressed me. I thought, you know, this is cool, this looks like something fun.鈥
He said students at his high school vaped in class without teachers knowing. He estimated a quarter of his classmates were habitual e-cigarette users. Lavandier started vaping regularly and later began smoking traditional cigarettes.
When Juul arrived on the market, he took that up too, and found it habit-forming. He liked it more than marijuana or alcohol.
鈥淚t鈥檚 impossible to let go once you started using,鈥 Lavandier said. 鈥淚鈥檒l tell you 鈥 after even an hour and a half or two, I am chomping at the bit to find my Juul.鈥
Julien Lavandier holds up his Juul聽for inspection. The tiny handheld device, typically around the size of a USB flash drive, simulates the experience of tobacco smoking. (John Daley / CPR News)
Stores aren鈥檛 supposed to sell e-cigarettes to minors, but Lavandier said he has been buying them for years and was never once carded. In April, the the firm behind Juul for documents to see if it鈥檚 intentionally marketing to underage teens.
The company has online testimonials and around their product. In one video, a woman in her 30s named Lauren says she鈥檚 constantly 鈥渆ncouraging people to use this and not smoke your cigarettes.鈥
Representatives from Juul Labs declined repeated requests for an interview. In a written statement, the company said its product offers a 鈥渢rue alternative to adult smokers, not anyone else, not minors.鈥
Other companies that make e-liquids also say their products are not for minors. The companies do offer a wide range of sweet flavors, however, like cotton candy, caramel, cherry, cookies and milk, and .
鈥淚f it tastes good and a kid might get their hands on it 鈥 that鈥檚 not our goal,鈥 said Jameson Rodgers, the VP of business development for , a California-based maker of e-cigarettes and vaping products.
鈥淎lso,鈥 Rodgers said, 鈥淚 feel like some of the responsibility has to fall on some of the parents of any kid that鈥檚 deciding to walk into an adult store, whether that鈥檚 a liquor or a tobacco store.鈥
The head of Colorado鈥檚 health department, , said he finds it hard to believe industry claims that it isn鈥檛 marketing to kids.
鈥淚 have to call BS on that,鈥 he said, 鈥渂ecause the flavors are cotton candy, 鈥榝rutti tutti鈥 and they have cartoon characters on their labels and you can mix flavors and strengths. It鈥檚 really appealing to kids, whether or not they are intentionally marketing to kids.鈥
Wolk also pointed to research that suggests youth vaping leads to traditional smoking. A January from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine made that conclusion. 鈥淎mong youth 鈥 who use e-cigarettes at higher rates than adults do 鈥 there is substantial evidence that e-cigarette use of transitioning to smoking conventional cigarettes,鈥 the report found.
One of the benefits of e-cigarettes, according to the industry, is that the devices can help people quit their use of tobacco products. When it comes to that habit, the advice from Ray Story, the founder and CEO of the is 鈥渄on鈥檛 start at all.鈥
Dr. Deborah Liptzin, a pediatric pulmonologist at Children鈥檚 Hospital Colorado, sees e-cigarettes as the 鈥渘ew way to get kids addicted to nicotine.鈥 She worries there鈥檚 been little research on health risks. (John Daley / CPR News)
鈥淏ut if you鈥檙e going to smoke or do e-cigarettes,鈥 Story said, 鈥渢hen certainly take an e-cigarette because it鈥檚 vastly less harmful 鈥 if you consider both of them contain nicotine, and both of them are addictive. It鈥檚 vastly less harmful than conventional tobacco.鈥
, a pediatric pulmonologist at Children鈥檚 Hospital Colorado, sees the evidence differently. E-cigarettes, she said, have become 鈥渢he new way to get kids addicted to nicotine.鈥 There鈥檚 been scant e-cigarette research, she noted, including on Juul and the ingredients in the e-liquids used in the devices.
鈥淭hey specifically use nicotine salts,鈥 Liptzin said. 鈥淲e have no research that I could find on nicotine salts that are inhaled, because it鈥檚 so new.鈥
Data from the 2015 Healthy Kids Colorado Survey found that nearly half of Colorado high schoolers . One in 4 said they had used an e-cigarette in the previous month. That鈥檚 three times the rate of traditional cigarettes, which has raised concerns among public health officials.
鈥淭he Juul has definitely been a game changer,鈥 said Jen Bolcoa, a health education coordinator with Jefferson County Public Schools. The tiny pod of e-liquid in a Juul has the 鈥 an entire pack 鈥 according to the company鈥檚 website.
Jen Bolcoa, a health education coordinator with Jefferson County Public Schools in Colorado, warns that many people don鈥檛 realize e-liquids contain nicotine. (John Daley / CPR News)
Most educators, parents and students 鈥渄on鈥檛 realize how much nicotine is in there, or that there鈥檚 even any nicotine,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what the research tells us.鈥
Bolcoa works with students as part of the team, a club at high schools backed by Jefferson County鈥檚 Tobacco-Free Youth program, to educate students, parents and administrators about the larger risks of tobacco use and Juuls. An educational video the team posted on Facebook tells viewers that 鈥淛uuls and other e-products are disguised to look like pens, flash drives.鈥
But their video competes with others posted by teens on social media sites. On YouTube, there鈥檚 a called the Juul Challenge. Two guys sit in the smoke-filled front seat of a car, competing, pulling on Juuls.
鈥淐heers, guys. Let鈥檚 see how many hits I can do? You got five,鈥 one of the video performers says. 鈥淗ow many hits can you do? Write in the comments.鈥
That video had more than 230,000 views, and 380 comments in seven weeks. Teresa Kenison, a volunteer on the Breathe Easy team, said social media helps drive the聽vaping trend. She has seen frequent use of the devices in classrooms, bathrooms and parking lots. All sorts of students are using e-cigarettes and Juuls, from those in AP classes to athletes.
Wheat Ridge High School seniors Gabriella Cordova (right) and Teresa Kenison are members of the Breathe Easy team, which educates students and adults in their Denver area school about tobacco and e-cigarette use. (John Daley / CPR News)
鈥淚t鈥檚 really everywhere,鈥 she said. 鈥淪tudents are getting hooked.鈥
She has noticed older kids making runs to the convenience store for younger ones.
Lavandier can attest to the power of e-cigarettes as a gateway to tobacco use. The college student said he鈥檚 now hooked on both cigarettes and e-cigarettes. He has tried to quit, but said he now can鈥檛 go three days without using a Juul. On a typical day, he鈥檒l take upward of 300 puffs.
鈥淪o my biggest concern,鈥 he said, 鈥渋s, you know, right now I鈥檓 puffing, puffing, happy, worry-free, and then in 20 years I鈥檒l have to explain to my kids why I鈥檝e developed popcorn lung 鈥 or some new form of lung cancer,鈥 Lavandier said. 鈥淏ecause I didn鈥檛 know what the risks were of e-cigarettes. It terrifies me.鈥
This story is part of a partnership that includes , and Kaiser Health News.
麻豆女优 Health News鈥 coverage of children鈥檚 health care issues is supported in part by the .