The FDA announced on June 23rd that all Juul products must be pulled from the US market. This decision expands the existing ban on the company's nicotine e-cigarettes for youth to now include adults as well. The following day, Juul requested a temporary hold on the ban from the federal appeals court and contested the decision. The court granted the suspension and currently, Juul products are still being sold in the US.
Lynn Kozlowski, a researcher at the University of Buffalo, has spent decades studying nicotine and cigarette addiction. He recently explained how the controversy surrounding Juul products ties into a broader discussion among adults and teenagers about e-cigarettes, tobacco use, and public health.
Question: Why does the FDA want to stop the sale of Juul products?
Answer: According to the FDA, this decision is a preventative measure due to a lack of "sufficient evidence about the toxicology of the product" to ensure public health. The FDA also stated that it has not received any information indicating that Juul products are an "imminent danger".
FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf commented on the impact of Juul products on youth e-cigarette use in a statement. This decision comes as some hope that new bans on Juul products and other adult e-cigarettes will help decrease youth e-cigarette use.
Question: How do the health risks of electronic cigarettes compare to traditional smoking?
Answer: Smoking kills at least half of its users prematurely due to cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cardiovascular disease. On average, smoking reduces the lifespan of smokers by 10 years.
Currently, there is no long-term epidemiological data on electronic cigarettes. However, assessments in the US and UK have concluded that while electronic cigarettes may be much less harmful than traditional cigarettes, they are not without risk. Potential risks include nicotine addiction and some cardiovascular risks, although it is estimated that these risks are lower than those associated with traditional cigarettes.
Question: Can electronic cigarettes reduce the harmful effects of normal smoking?
Answer: I do not encourage anyone to use electronic cigarettes if they do not need to. However, if someone smokes and electronic cigarettes help them quit smoking completely, they can be a useful tool in reducing smoking and health issues. Quitting smoking is good for your health. Studies have shown that if someone quits smoking before the age of 40, they can avoid 90% of the risk of death compared to those who continue smoking. If someone quits smoking before the age of 30, their health risks are almost the same as someone who has never smoked.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have stated that the evidence for the effectiveness of e-cigarettes in smoking cessation is limited. While some e-cigarettes have been approved for sale by the FDA, it has been suggested that they may be a helpful tool for smokers looking to quit by helping them reduce their tobacco intake or quit altogether.
Recent research has shown that e-cigarettes are more effective than nicotine replacement therapies in helping people quit smoking. The UK's National Health Service has approved e-cigarettes as an acceptable method of smoking cessation.
Question: Is vaping still popular among teenagers as it used to be?
Answer: Teen vaping is on the decline. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2019, 27.5% of high school students reported vaping at least once in the previous month. This number decreased to 19.6% in 2020, and further dropped to 11.3% in 2022. Just over a quarter of monthly users, which is roughly 3% of high schoolers in 2022, reported using e-cigarettes every day.
Some of the reductions may be due to COVID-19, restrictions on youth access, and government anti-vaping campaigns.
The widespread publicity about serious lung diseases caused by e-cigarettes, known as EVALI, is likely to deter many people from using electronic cigarettes. However, research has ultimately shown that the disease is primarily caused by black market cannabis e-cigarette products.
Question: Does e-cigarette use increase smoking in adolescents?
Answer: Although the decrease in the number of electronic cigarette use among teenagers is encouraging, an important question worth asking is whether electronic cigarettes directly lead to later smoking.
Parents have expressed concerns that e-cigarettes could serve as a gateway to smoking. However, research does not seem to support a direct cause-and-effect relationship. Despite a surge in e-cigarette use nationwide in recent years, smoking rates have actually declined.
Researchers utilized several years of data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey, which surveyed nearly 40,000 participants, and found that less than 1% of individuals who initially tried electronic cigarettes went on to become regular smokers. Additionally, individuals who tried electronic cigarettes before traditional tobacco products were also less likely to become smokers compared to those who first tried cigarettes or other tobacco products.
Another large-scale study on American youth has found that once researchers controlled for general risk-taking behavior, the history of e-cigarette use was only moderately or insignificantly associated with an increase in the number of smokers.
Question: How to balance adult use and teenage safety?
Answer: Although e-cigarettes are not a major factor in causing teenagers to smoke, there is still concern over the use of e-cigarette products by young people, despite a ban on selling e-cigarettes to those under 21 in 2019.
Completely banning products that may be helpful to adult smokers who wish to quit is not the only way to curb young people's access to these products. For instance, a proposal suggests restricting the sale of all nicotine and tobacco products to stores accessible only to those aged 21 and over.
While products like Juul are worth studying and regulating, it's important to keep in mind the verified end date and convenient supply of cigarettes, for both current adult smokers and the many teenagers who start smoking every year. Encouraging as many smokers as possible to quit will save lives.
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