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Juul Users Are Starting To Say Goodbye To Their Vape Of Choice


After nearly 25 years of smoking, Tim Marchman wanted to quit. Still, he didn’t want to be what he called the “vape guy,” the kind of person who spends hours in specialty stores choosing from dozens of electronic nicotine delivery devices, most of them quite elaborate. So he settled on what struck him as the simplest option, Juul, a brand that has been practically synonymous with vaping for a while.

“Juul is the default,” said Mr Marchman, editor at the Vice Media tech and science site. motherboard, he said in an interview. “Just plug and play.”

Unlike some other e-cigarette brands, Juul was also widely available. “It’s at gas stations in the middle of nowhere,” said Mr. Marchman.

This is likely to change.

This week, the Food and Drug Administration told Juul Labs stop selling your devices in the United StatesCiting scant and conflicting data from the company on potentially harmful chemicals that could leak from Juul’s e-liquid pods.

Like other converts, Mr. Marchman says he has no plans to return to tobacco once he can no longer afford his favorite brand of e-cigarettes. Still, he wonders how the FDA decision will affect his habit.

“Do I need to bring my vape juice with me if I go out of the country?” said Mr. Marchman, 43, who lives in Philadelphia. “Where to get it? I barely know where to get it in Philly.”

The ruling against Juul comes after years of criticism about the possible negative health effects of the company’s products and how it happened. addressed to young people with a variety of sweet flavors such as mango, crème brûlée and mint, and youth-oriented marketing campaigns.

The pioneer company of Juul Labs was started in 2007 by James Monsees and Adam Bowen, a pair of entrepreneurs who came up with the idea for a tobacco alternative while on a cigarette break during their time as graduate students at Stanford University. When Juuls was first sold in 2015, the brand’s popularity soared in part because of the strength of a brand. live ad campaign It showed young, attractive men and women smiling, laughing and posing stunningly under the word “vaporized”.

By 2018 Juul had become so popular that the brand name became a verb, teens secretly “juuling” in high school classrooms and hallways. That same year, Philip Morris’ parent company, Altria, agreed to pay. 13 billion dollars For a 35 percent stake in Juul Labs.

then one came rain of lawsuits filed by state attorneys general, accusing the company of promoting nicotine addiction among youth through its advertising campaigns. Juul paid tens of millions of dollars to settle cases in 2019 and 2021. The rise and fall of the company from Silicon Valley success story to public health pariah in the 2021 documentary “Move Fast and Vape Things“By the New York Times.

Although Juul lost its business after restricting its advertising following lawsuits, it remained one of the most visible and popular e-cigarette brands on the market. For Matthew Luther, 31, who lives in Detroit and repairs leather goods, the news of the ban was upsetting.

“I will definitely miss the Juuls,” said Mr. Luther, 31. “I think they were better aesthetically. They can easily be thrown in your pocket and refilled.”

Like others interviewed for this article, he said he appreciated the simple design of the Juul device, similar to a flash drive. “The ban seems back to me,” he said.

The FDA decision came as Mr. Luther increased his use of Juul products. “I think it’s just life, stress and trying to quit smoking,” she said.

Although Juul’s sales have fallen in recent years, especially Headed to competitors like Puff Bar, the company once controlled 75 percent of the market. For many, the brand has become synonymous with vaping devices, as is Kleenex for textures.

Jenny Mathison, who started using Juul products in 2018, said, “When I think of e-cigarettes, I think of Juul.” She’s the only nicotine alternative she’s found, she’s the only nicotine alternative she’s found, allowing her to kick the Marlboro habit she picked up in high school. , she added.

Ms. Mathison, 54, who lives in Rancho Mirage, California and is a full-time caregiver for her disabled husband, said she would likely switch to rival brand Vuse.

Other Juul users are buying and stocking the capsules. (Juul’s asked the federal appeals court To temporarily block the FDA’s order. It has not yet been decided whether the company’s products will be temporarily available.)

For Philadelphia editor Mr. Marchman, FDA action could result in him turning into the type he’s long feared to be – the vape man.

“I’m going to end up with a weird vape device that I don’t completely understand,” said Mr. Marchman. “I will have to choose a device, try different juices. It will be one whole.”

Sandra E. Garcia contributed to the reporting.



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