JUUL in School: Teacher and Administrator Awareness and Policies of E-Cigarettes and JUUL in U.S. Middle and High Schools

Abstract

Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use, including JUUL, has risen to epidemic levels among high school and middle school students in the United States. Schools serve as a key environment for prevention and intervention efforts to address e-cigarette use, yet little is known about the awareness of and response to e-cigarettes in schools. This national survey of middle and high school teachers and administrators ( n = 1,420) measured JUUL awareness, e-cigarette policies, and barriers to enforcement in schools. While two thirds of respondents had heard of a product called JUUL (67.6%), less than half accurately identified a photo of a JUUL as a vaping device/e-cigarette (47.3%). Awareness of JUUL (80.9%) was higher among high school teachers (83.3%) than among middle school teachers (78.3%). A large majority of respondents reported that their school had an e-cigarette policy (82.9%), but less than half of the sample worked in a school with a policy that specifically included JUUL (43.4%). Those working in a school with an e-cigarette policy in place noted that e-cigarettes’ discreet appearance (65.6%) and difficulties in identifying origin of vapor or scent (46.1%) made the policy difficult to enforce. Efforts to increase middle and high school staff awareness of the ever-evolving e-cigarette market are essential to help prevent youth use. Adoption and enforcement of policies will be critical to ensure that schools remain tobacco-free spaces.

Tactics for Drawing Youth to Vaping: Content Analysis of Electronic Cigarette Advertisements

“…Vaping is essentially a way to avoid smoke-free policies due to a current lack of regulations [ 55 , 56 ]. In this regard, these advertisements reinforce already problematic patterns of use among youth, such as hiding it from parents [ 54 , 57 ] or using e-cigarettes in challenging contexts, like schools [ 58 , 59 ]. By reinforcing the ability to vape anywhere, harmful patterns of use will likely increase.…”

Adolescent Use and Perceptions of JUUL and Other Pod-Style e-Cigarettes: A Qualitative Study to Inform Prevention

“…First, school staff could lack knowledge about the products. In a recent study, less than half of school staff correctly identified JUUL in a photo, suggesting staff may need training product identification [ 42 ]. Additionally, evidenced-based and theory-informed curriculum for tobacco prevention and education, such as the Tobacco Prevention Toolkit, could be incorporated, further assisting schools in addressing the problem [ 43 ].…”

Radical Practice

“…The 20 titles alone are fun to read, as they chart our field’s progress through emerging topics and game-changing aha’s. You’ll see the moment when a big idea first appeared on our pages: community-based participatory research to address health disparities (Wallerstein & Duran, 2006), harnessing social media for health promotion and behavior change (Korda & Itani, 2013), using the arts to heal trauma (Rowe et al, 2017), analyzing sworn declarations and border documents to explore the needs of transgender asylum seekers (Gowin et al, 2017), and the arrival of JUUL at school (Schillo et al, 2020). While the trend was still to drill down to individual knowledge and “lifestyle choices,” you’ll see how HPP authors pulled up to context: analyzing settings (Poland et al, 2009), working conditions of low-wage workers (Nobrega et al, 2016), environmental influences on tobacco use among Asian American and Pacific Islander youth (Tanjasiri et al, 2013), and corner store and wholesaler interventions (Schwendler et al, 2017).…”