JUULING: What kids don't know will hurt them

• Published in: Contemporary pediatrics (Montvale, N.J.) Vol. 35; no. 6; pp. 5 - 39
• Main Authors: Gibson-Young, Linda M, Martinasek, Mary
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Monmouth Junction MultiMedia Healthcare Inc 01.06.2018
• Subjects: Age; Childrens health; Disease control; Electronic cigarettes; Health risk assessment; Medical research; Nicotine; Pediatrics; Secondary school students; Smoking; Teenagers; Tobacco; VOCs; Volatile organic compounds; Young adults; San Francisco California; United States > US; California; Florida; Alabama
• ISSN: 8750-0507; 2150-6345

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), who previously championed the Child Nicotine Poison Prevention Act of 2015 because of child illness and deaths from the overingestion of liquid nicotine, has provided a fact sheet for healthcare providers and parents that underscores the greatest concern related to JUULs-addiction and the potential risk of becoming a traditional cigarette smoker.17 The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has taken enforcement steps against the underage selling of the products to young persons and has indicated it will be developing a comprehensive plan to curb adolescent and young adult uptake.18 The American Association for Cancer Research and the American Society of Clinical Oncology have a policy statement supporting regulation, discouraging youth-oriented marketing and sales, and prohibiting the promotion of flavors that appeal to the young.19 The JUUL company has revamped its website to focus on adult users20 and is making statements in an effort to curb the acquisition of its products by young persons through age verification, marketing to adults only, and collaborating with law enforcement and school systems.21 This is similar to what the tobacco companies' websites do to curb tobacco smoking among teenagers, which has been found to do more harm than good.22 These websites require a click on a tab to enter the website, stating one verifies one's age of least 21 years.Risky behaviors are defined as potential actions leading to harm, loss, or danger in relation to health or happiness, and the literature often points out that risky behaviors start in the early teenaged years.22,23 Risky behaviors in these young populations are especially concerning because nicotine exposure in undeveloped brains can lead to reduction in focus, attention, and impulse control, as well as potential cognition or mood disorders.24 Research on the health risks of ENDS products, and particularly novel products, is in progress, but it takes time for the findings to become published.Young people who smoke are in danger of: 0 Addiction to nicotine 0 Reduced lung function 0 Reduced lung growth 0 Early cardiovascular damage 0 Adverse effects on brain development Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.2 4.7million middle school and high school students were tobacco users in 2015.