19 cases of JUULing at Worland Middle School reported

WORLAND – During a recent parent night at the Worland Middle School, Worland Police Chief Gabe Elliott spoke about one of the most recent, yet most popular drug trends, JUULing.

A JUUL is an electronic cigarette that currently is overtaking 72 percent of the tobacco market. The e-cigarette has the appearance of a flash drive and is charged by using a USB port. It has two components to it, the battery and temperature regulation component and the mouthpiece which has a spot for the JUUL pod.

JUULing is considered a safer, healthier alternative to smoking due to the fact that it does not involve the consumption of the tobacco plant.

Other reasons that JUULing is considered healthier is due to the fact that JUUL creators, Adam Bowen and James Monsees, found that adding benzoic acid to adjust the nicotine levels in tobacco mimicked traditional cigarettes rapid nicotine.

JUULs contain five ingredients: benzoic acid, nicotine solution, glycerol, propylene glycol and, unlike many other vapes and companies, use food grade flavoring. Other companies may use diacetyl for flavoring a chemical that can cause dangerous lung inflammation. JUUL, however, makes a point to not add diacetyl.

Unlike cigarettes, which involve combustion and burn at temperatures between 752 and 1,295 degrees Fahrenheit, JUULs only reach about 300 degrees to create an inhalable aerosol. Since there’s no combustion reaction, there’s less toxins.

In Wyoming, the average pack of cigarettes cost $5.41. Buying a pack a day would result in the yearly cost of about $1,975. This is compared to a JUUL pod containing 5 percent nicotine according to their website which is priced at about $16. Buying one of them daily would result in a yearly cost of $5,840.

DANGERS OF JUULING

Some epidemiologists believed that the appeal of JUULs to children is a good thing, seeing as the popularity of JUULing amongst young people means less are smoking

cigarettes. However, the amount of nicotine still can have some of the bad effects that smoking does.

While e-cigarettes are believed to be less harmful than traditional cigarettes due to the fact that they aren’t exposing the smoker to so many dangerous chemicals and actual smoke; and JUULs are thought to be safer than other e-cigarettes due to the lower temperatures, the lack of diacetyl and the added benzoic acid to adjust the nicotine salts, vaping, even with JUUL pens, is still extremely dangerous.

For one thing, vaping and e-cigarette’s – though lacking tobacco – still contain nicotine. For example, one JUUL flavor pod has enough nicotine in it to equal to the same amount in a 20 pack of cigarettes. The pods have found to be 5 percent nicotine. Nicotine is commonly known to be highly addictive.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the way nicotine works is that it is absorbed into the bloodstream. It then goes to the adrenal glands just above the kidneys. These glands release adrenaline, increasing blood pressure, breathing and heartrate.

Nicotine intake can also impair the adolescent brain. The human brain is not fully developed before the age of 25. The use of nicotine before that can not only impair the brain and lung development, but also harms the parts of the brain that controls attention, mood, learning and impulse control. Along with that, nicotine also can change the way that synapses – the way in which information flows from one brain cell to another – are developed.

According to drugabuse.gov, a website provided by Captain Zack Newton during the parent night presentation, nicotine is as addictive as heroin and cocaine. Nicotine reaches the brain within eight seconds of inhalation. If having stopped being used, the body may get confused and extremely sick. This makes it hard to stop using nicotine products, even when you know it is bad for you.

Even though the lack of tobacco means that the nicotine alone in vaping cannot cause cancer, it’s still extremely addictive and dangerous.

Many e-cigarettes aside from JUUL use nicotine salts which allow high levels of the drug to be inhaled much more easily.

According to center4research.org, a 2017 study had found that non-smoking adults were four times more likely to start smoking actual cigarettes after 18 months of vaping. On top of that, according to Centers for Disease Control, young people who smoke e-cigarettes are more likely to smoke in the future.

Ingredients in some e-cigarettes aerosol can be extremely harmful to the lungs long-term. These ingredients include nicotine, ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deeply into lungs, diacetyl, volatile organic compounds, cancer-causing chemicals and heavy metals. While JUUL doesn’t include most of these ingredients, it does include others, such as glycerol and benzoic acid.

JUULING YOUTHS

Most believe that JUULing is appealing to kids due to the sleek and discrete design resembling a USB port. In a video Elliott showed during his presentation, it revealed one YouTuber giving a demonstration on how to hide a JUUL in a backpack strap. A quick YouTube search can conclude there is a broad range of videos available on this subject.

However, the JUUL chief administrative officer told TIME magazine in 2017 that “the design was absolutely not meant to look like a USB port. It was absolutely not meant to look discreet for kids to hide them in school. It was made to not look like a cigarette, because when smokers stop, they don’t want to be reminded of cigarettes.”

According to truthinitiative.org, 63 percent of youth are unaware that JUUL e-cigarettes contain nicotine, and, though the company has many anti-youth-use initiatives in place, most of JUULs marketing is on social media.

According to JUUL.com, the JUUL company has recently pledged $30 million over the next three years to independent research, community engagement and education for youths and parents. They’ve taken many additional steps as a company toward youth awareness and prevention. This has included utilizing unique identification match and age verifying technology to ensure that minors aren’t able to access or purchase their products online. JUUL also has reseller terms, has conducted random compliance checks of independent retail stores and is developing a new-user authenticated device to prevent those underage from using the product and more.

Another topic brought up during the presentation was other types of vaping devices and e-cigarettes that look like USB drives as well. These include the Pax Era, a pen stylized for marijuana intake, and the MarkTen Elite, another e-cigarette that distributes nicotine.

YouTube also has demonstration videos about how to take the Pax Era pods and convert them to JUUL pen use, according to Elliott’s presentation.

Surprisingly, most youth being caught with JUULs aren’t high schoolers, but middle schoolers. According to Elliott, there have been 19 incidents of JUULing at the middle school in the first semester of this school year.

“We’re catching middle school kids because they aren’t thinking it through,” Elliott said.

At the presentation, Elliott received questions from parents. One parent asked the consequences for a child under 18 to be caught with a JUUL. According to Worland Middle School Principal Ryan Clark, if a student was caught on middle school grounds, they would be turned into law enforcement and face both in school, and out of school suspension, the days varying on how many times the student has been caught.

According to Worland High School Principal Wade Sandford, at the high school, if a student is caught with one of these devices, they can face from three to five days of out of school suspension. Law enforcement will confiscate their device where it will be tested for nicotine, which may help vary the court citation.

Washakie County Youth Alternatives assists youth to achieve their fullest potential as young adults. The Diversion Program, run through Washakie Youth Alternatives, is a program in which enables youth who are first-time offenders to avoid a Court Disposition, or a court record.

Through completing the program selected for them, the Diversion Program encourages youth to make better choices, maintain good grades and learn how the judicial system works.

Participants of the program are to meet certain requirements in order to be eligible for a dismissal from the justice system. They are to maintain passing grades in their classes, abide by curfew, attend a series of classes according to their offense and complete community service. Those incapable of following through with those expectations could mean being pulled from the program and instead be faced with charges and an appearance in court for their original offense. The Minor In Possession Program specifically works to educate youths about the consequences of alcohol or substance abuse. Their program is designed to encourage youth to learn to be accountable for their actions and choices. It works to educate youths on the realities and consquences of their behavior.

Middle schoolers may also be faced with a different punishment than high schoolers due to the age gaps between the two.

Elliott gave advice for parents approaching their children on this situation. These included having all the facts before talking with children; be patient and ready to listen; set a positive example; start the conversation at a right time; educate facts and consequences; keep conversations going; connect and encourage; and remind and respect.