Smoking looks a lot different these days. It鈥檚 been on the decline, due to restrictions at work and in bars and restaurants. But there is one segment鈥攖eenagers who use e-cigarettes鈥攖hat is growing fast. And health experts are worried about the consequences.
In the same way Facebook became a verb, like 鈥淔acebook me,鈥� the electronic cigarette JUUL created a new verb: 鈥淛UULing.鈥�
It鈥檚 a reference to the San Francisco company that dominates the e-cigarette market. They鈥檙e small, sleek and easy to hide.
鈥淭here are jokes, people call bathrooms 'JUUL rooms', especially in high school. It鈥檚 just easy, it鈥檚 easy to conceal,鈥� said Devon Rohrer.
Rohrer is an 18-year-old freshman at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis. He tried a JUUL for the first time as a junior in high school, when a classmate offered it to him at a party.He says they鈥檙e common among people his age.
鈥淚鈥檝e never seen an adult with a JUUL, I鈥檝e never seen an adult using a JUUL. Only children,鈥� he said.
The head of the Food and Drug Administration calls the use of addictive electronic cigarettes among youth 鈥渁n epidemic.鈥�
According to the , 3.6 million teens are using e-cigarettes. That鈥檚 up 78 percent from last year.
In Indiana, the overall smoking rate has dropped significantly since 2011. But Miranda Spitznagle, director of the state鈥檚 Tobacco Prevention and Cessation programs, says there鈥檚 a big exception.
鈥淕enerally that has been trending down, except for this one particular classification of products among young people, which is e-cigarettes,鈥� said Spitznagle.
Companies like JUUL that sell electronic cigarettes promote their products as a healthier, safer alternative to cigarettes.
In a statement posted on its website, JUUL CEO Kevin Burns wrote, 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want anyone who doesn鈥檛 smoke, or already use nicotine, to use JUUL products. We certainly don鈥檛 want youth using the product.鈥滱nd they鈥檙e very easy to use.
The JUUL device fits in your hand. Click in a pod filled with flavors like mango, mint or cucumber, and then all you have to do is inhale.
There鈥檚 minimal smoke or vapor and it鈥檚 gone within seconds. What your body gets is a jolt of nicotine; one pod has as much as a pack of traditional cigarettes.
That鈥檚 what worries public health experts.
鈥淭he young brain is much more likely to get hooked and then have problems later,鈥� said Dr. Leslie Hulvershorn.
Hulvershorn, an associate professor of psychiatry at Indiana University School of Medicine, says early exposure to any addictive substance can lead to future substance abuse disorders.
The federal government also says nicotine exposure during adolescence may harm brain development.
Still, Hulvershorn doesn鈥檛 have many teen patients looking for treatment to stop using e-cigarettes.
鈥淚 think people think if you just chew some gum or just really try to quit, you can do it,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 mean it鈥檚 not to say you can鈥檛 do it, it鈥檚 just the odds are kinda stacked against you, it鈥檚 hard to do.鈥�
She believes treatment is the solution and adds that 95 percent of teens who need substance use disorder treatment never get it. She thinks it's a combination of treatment being hard to find and people believing that this isn鈥檛 a disorder but simply a character failing.
On its packaging and ads, JUUL warns the product contains nicotine and nicotine is an addictive substance. The company also said recently that it was taking flavored pods out of convenience stores and only selling them at vape shops or tobacco stores.
The FDA is pushing for more. In late November, it proposed regulations to crack down on flavored electronic nicotine delivery systems and making it harder for teens to buy them online.But some students say JUULs are still readily available in high school. Two seniors, Noah and John, were hanging out recently at an Indianapolis mall. They only provided their first names.
鈥淚鈥檝e been offered it, I have just straight up offered to do it,鈥� said Noah.
John added, 鈥淵eah, like it鈥檚 ridiculous how easy it is to get. Like even if you are underage it鈥檚 ridiculous easy to get it.鈥�
As for Devon Rohrer, the IUPUI freshman, he was turned off by JUUL鈥檚 nicotine level.
鈥淚 saw JUULs and I thought oh it鈥檚 just another tiny low nicotine vape. And then I heard my friend tell me, oh that has 50 milligrams in it,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a little too much for me.鈥�
Still, students like Rohrer seem to be having an internal debate about how they feel and what their opinions are on this issue.
鈥淚 think people that do it realize it鈥檚 not good for you, but also it could be worse. It鈥檚 kind of a gray area ... kind of like a lawful evil,鈥� said Rohrer.
Rohrer says he replaced his JUUL with another device and doesn鈥檛 use it often but he says it has a low nicotine content.
This story was produced by, a reporting collaborative focused on public health.
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