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I used to think that, too. Then I read this post[1]. JUUL has more nicotine than a cigarette and there’s less friction to using it: a 10 second hit instead of

I used to think that, too. Then I read this post[1]. JUUL has more nicotine than a cigarette and there’s less friction to using it: a 10 second hit instead of a 10 minute cigarette and there’s no need to find a lighter or go outside. It also doesn’t really smell so it’s easy to use discretely. All of that adds up to people who think JUUL is safer or can help them quit but it actually gets them hooked even more. It’s like trying to cure a coffee addiction by switching to a shot of espresso. It might look like cutting back but it’s really doubling up. [1]https://gen.medium.com/confessions-of-a-juul-junkie-6b5ce4a8b92e https://gen.medium.com/confessions-of-a-juul-junkie-6b5ce4a8...

cwkoss 7y ago
Nicotine doesn't cause chronic disease, though. It's the tar and other toxins that cause the majority of negative effects from smoking.
function_seven 7y ago
> JUUL has more nicotine than a cigarette and there’s less friction to using it: a 10 second hit instead of a 10 minute cigarette and there’s no need to find a lighter or go outside. They chose the nicotine concentration to mimic the delivery of a regular cigarette. Not less or more, but the same. A pod will deliver the same amount of nicotine to a user as 20 cigarettes. A 10-second hit is nowhere near the same as smoking an entire cigarette. It has the same feeling as an equivalent drag on a smoke.
dlivingston 7y ago
What you're missing is that nicotine is harmless on its own; in fact, it's commonly used as a "nootropic" (cognitive enhancer) [0]. The true danger of smoking cigarettes is not the nicotine - that's simply the vessel by one gets addicted. The true danger is the tar and other carcinogenic by-products of inhaling a combusted tobacco plant. Anecdotally, I started smoking cigarettes as a university undergraduate. I used Juuls (and other e-cigarettes, both disposable and refillable) to help me quit, and I'm now nicotine and tobacco free. When I smoked cigarettes, I would wake up every morning hacking my lungs out. I smelled awful. I couldn't engage in cardiovascular exercise for longer than a minute. With e-cigarettes, my coughing went away and my lung capacity returned to approximately normal. In fact, I competed in two Spartan Beast races while addicted to e-cigs. Juul is an awful company for marketing towards children, but it's no exaggeration to say that e-cigarettes saved my life. [0]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1579636 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1579636
- google234123 7y ago
  Nicotine is not harmless! Look at all the adverse effects (they all have citations): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine
  - asdff 7y ago
    Neither is caffeine, but no one is up an arms about teens blowing their part time wages on $6 lattes and ruining their teeth. Maybe because SBUX is publicly traded?
- elliekelly 7y ago
  > What you're missing is that nicotine is harmless on its own So if middle schoolers everywhere suddenly started chewing nicorette gum you would think it’s totally harmless? I suspect not.
  - decebalus1 7y ago
    Probably a similar level of harm as drinking energy drinks.
  - dlivingston 7y ago
    I must say that I’m a little bothered that that’s all you appear to have gotten out of my comment.

cwkoss 7y ago

Nicotine doesn't cause chronic disease, though. It's the tar and other toxins that cause the majority of negative effects from smoking.

function_seven 7y ago

> JUUL has more nicotine than a cigarette and there’s less friction to using it: a 10 second hit instead of a 10 minute cigarette and there’s no need to find a lighter or go outside. They chose the nicotine concentration to mimic the delivery of a regular cigarette. Not less or more, but the same. A pod will deliver the same amount of nicotine to a user as 20 cigarettes. A 10-second hit is nowhere near the same as smoking an entire cigarette. It has the same feeling as an equivalent drag on a smoke.

dlivingston 7y ago

What you're missing is that nicotine is harmless on its own; in fact, it's commonly used as a "nootropic" (cognitive enhancer) [0]. The true danger of smoking cigarettes is not the nicotine - that's simply the vessel by one gets addicted. The true danger is the tar and other carcinogenic by-products of inhaling a combusted tobacco plant. Anecdotally, I started smoking cigarettes as a university undergraduate. I used Juuls (and other e-cigarettes, both disposable and refillable) to help me quit, and I'm now nicotine and tobacco free. When I smoked cigarettes, I would wake up every morning hacking my lungs out. I smelled awful. I couldn't engage in cardiovascular exercise for longer than a minute. With e-cigarettes, my coughing went away and my lung capacity returned to approximately normal. In fact, I competed in two Spartan Beast races while addicted to e-cigs. Juul is an awful company for marketing towards children, but it's no exaggeration to say that e-cigarettes saved my life. [0]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1579636 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1579636

google234123 7y ago
Nicotine is not harmless! Look at all the adverse effects (they all have citations): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine
- asdff 7y ago
  Neither is caffeine, but no one is up an arms about teens blowing their part time wages on $6 lattes and ruining their teeth. Maybe because SBUX is publicly traded?
elliekelly 7y ago
> What you're missing is that nicotine is harmless on its own So if middle schoolers everywhere suddenly started chewing nicorette gum you would think it’s totally harmless? I suspect not.
- decebalus1 7y ago
  Probably a similar level of harm as drinking energy drinks.
- dlivingston 7y ago
  I must say that I’m a little bothered that that’s all you appear to have gotten out of my comment.