For young people, e-cigarettes are even more addictive

“Nicotine; it’s a highly addictive drug and the amount that you can get into your brain within nine seconds of taking in one hit on a vape pen or a Juul, can be very high levels just like combustible smoking,” said Andrea King, a psychologist and researcher at the University of Chicago.

Juul’s mission is to be an alternative to cigarettes but has taken over social media and has had a huge influence on teenagers.

Teens think it’s a safer alternative and will not have the same effect on them as cigarettes.  These are the messages teens get daily about consuming substances, but the reality is, “At these young ages, the brain is very very sensitive to nicotine work, more so than any time in life,” Dr. King said.

She explained that it’s important for teenagers to realize how much faster they can get hooked on these substances.

“Tobacco companies have long known that they want your brain,” Ms. King said. “I say, by age 19, they want your brain, because they know they will have a lifelong customer or could and they when you die, they just find replacements.”

According to Dr. King, vape labels are not required to say what chemicals they hold.

“So the amount of nicotine and the addiction that somebody could have plus these chemicals that we don’t really know because they don’t have to reveal those ingredients can be very scary.”

Dr. King explained that around the world, some countries are setting limits on the amount of nicotine allowed in the e-juice, inserted into the vape.

For example, in the United Kingdom, who’s limit of 20 milligrams per milliliter, the limit is almost two times lower than the chemical composition of Juul pods.

“It has been cited as the equivalent of a whole pack of cigarettes in terms of how much nicotine you would be inhaling in your lungs. It depends a lot on how the person uses the product, some people can take a longer hit and hold the inhale for longer,” Dr. King said.

Dr. King described that because of the amount of gray area from user to user, whether it is their age, how often and how much they consume, or their other habits, it is difficult to talk about what it means to quit and how difficult that process will be.

She described how studies have been completed and methods have been developed to help adults quit.

“We treat adult smokers, and we have medications to help them quit,” Dr. King said. “But, they’re not approved for people under 18, which makes it that much harder to quit.”