Youth access to JUUL online: eBay sales of JUUL prior to and following FDA action

Laestadius, Linnea; Wang, Yang

doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2018-054499

Cited by 19 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Our study found that users of the UnderageJuul subreddit used different discreet approaches to circumvent relevant legal regulations to get JUUL. Some of these approaches (eg, purchase via eBay) are also reported in previous studies [9,16]. This study and the findings contribute to the literature by providing a detailed category dictionary for purchase approaches.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

“…[15]. Laestadius et al characterized the sale of JUUL products on eBay before a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) request to remove them, documented the impact of the request, and explored how eBay vendors bypassed FDA’s effort [16]. In addition, social media data have also been used to study JUUL-related communications and their impact.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Underage JUUL Use Patterns: Content Analysis of Reddit Messages

Zhan¹,

Zhang²,

Okamoto³

et al. 2019

J Med Internet Res

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BackgroundThe popularity of JUUL (an e-cigarette brand) among youth has recently been reported in news media and academic papers, which has raised great public health concerns. Little research has been conducted on the age distribution, geographic distribution, approaches to buying JUUL, and flavor preferences pertaining to underage JUUL users.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to analyze social media data related to demographics, methods of access, product characteristics, and use patterns of underage JUUL use.MethodsWe collected publicly available JUUL-related data from Reddit. We extracted and summarized the age, location, and flavor preference of subreddit UnderageJuul users. We also compared common and unique users between subreddit UnderageJuul and subreddit JUUL. The methods of purchasing JUULs were analyzed by manually examining the content of the Reddit threads.ResultsA total of 716 threads and 2935 comments were collected from the subreddit UnderageJuul before it was shut down. Most threads did not mention a specific age, but ages ranged from 13 years to greater than 21 years in those that did. Mango, mint, and cucumber were the most popular among the 7 flavors listed on JUUL’s official website, and 336 subreddit UnderageJuul threads mentioned 7 discreet approaches to circumvent relevant legal regulations to get JUUL products, the most common of which was purchasing JUUL from other Reddit users (n=181). Almost half of the UnderageJuul users (389/844, 46.1%) also participated in discussions on the main JUUL subreddit and sought information across multiple Reddit forums. Most (64/74, 86%) posters were from large metropolitan areas.ConclusionsThe subreddit UnderageJuul functioned as a forum to explore methods of obtaining JUUL and to discuss and recommend specific flavors before it was shut down. About half of those using UnderageJuul also used the more general JUUL subreddit, so a forum still exists where youths can attempt to share information on how to obtain JUUL and other products. Exploration of such social media data in real time for rapid public health surveillance could provide early warning for significant health risks before they become major public health threats.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Underage JUUL Use Patterns: Content Analysis of Reddit Messages

Zhan¹,

Zhang²,

Okamoto³

et al. 2019

J Med Internet Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Pods which give a nicotine surge were posted very frequently, and worryingly, there were many under-age followers recorded [78]. Despite efforts restrict youth access, these products can be obtained by young people of any age in stores or over the internet [79][80][81]. The Industry would have us debate whether or not vaping is a gateway to smoking.…”

Section: What Should Be Our Strategy To Protect Cyp?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Unfriendly Fire: How the Tobacco Industry is Destroying the Future of Our Children

Bush

Ferkol

Valiulis

et al. 2021

AML

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Tobacco has long been known to be one of the greatest causes of morbidity and mortality in the adults, but the effects on the foetus and young children, which are lifelong, have been less well appreciated. Developing from this are electronic nicotine delivery systems or vapes, promulgated as being less harmful than tobacco. Nicotine itself is toxic to the foetus, with permanent effects on lung structure and function. Most vapes contain nicotine, but they also contain many other compounds which are inhaled and for which there are no toxicity studies. They also contain known toxic substances, whose use is banned by European Union legislation. Accelerating numbers of young people are vaping, and this does not reflect an exchange of vapes for cigarettes. The acute toxicity of e-cigarettes is greater than that of tobacco, and includes acute lung injury, pulmonary haemorrhage and eosinophilic and lipoid pneumonia. Given the worse acute toxicity, it should be impossible to be complacent about medium and long term effects of vaping. Laboratory studies have demonstrated changes in lung proteomics and the innate immune system with vaping, some but not all of which overlap with tobacco. It would be wrong to consider vapes as a weaker form of tobacco, they have their own toxicity. Children and young people are being targeted by the vaping industry (which is largely the same as the tobacco industry), including on-line, and unless an efficient legislative program is put in place, a whole new generation of nicotine addicts will result.

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“…1,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] Although retailers cannot sell e-cigarettes to minors, these devices are frequently accessed via social means (eg, peers, family members) or directly purchased via online or in-person retailers. [22][23][24] The combination of high prevalence, public health ramifications, and social/environmental reinforcers of adolescent e-cigarette use has resulted in a call to action for e-cigarette prevention programs aimed at adolescents. 1,3,5 JUUL is the most used e-cigarette device among young persons, accounting for approximately 70% of the e-cigarette market at convenience stores in 2018.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Middle School Program to Prevent E-Cigarette Use: A Pilot Study of “CATCH My Breath”

Kelder

Mantey

Dusen³

et al. 2020

Public Health Rep

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Objectives: From 2017 to 2018, electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use increased 78% among high school students and 48% among middle school students in the United States. However, few e-cigarette prevention interventions have been evaluated. We determined the feasibility and initial effectiveness of “CATCH My Breath,” an e-cigarette prevention program, among a sample of middle schools in central Texas. Methods: Twelve middle schools in Texas (6 intervention schools and 6 control schools) participated in the CATCH My Breath pilot program during 2016-2017. CATCH My Breath is rooted in social cognitive theory, consists of 4 interactive in-class modules, and is collaboratively administered via classroom and physical education teachers, student–peer leaders, and social messaging (eg, school posters). We collected 3 waves of data: baseline (January 2017), 4-month follow-up (May 2017), and 16-month follow-up (May 2018). Using school as the unit of analysis, we tested a repeated cross-sectional, condition-by-time interaction on e-cigarette ever use, psychosocial determinants of use, and other tobacco use behaviors. Analyses controlled for school-level sociodemographic characteristics (eg, sex, race/ethnicity, and percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch). Results: From baseline to 16-month follow-up, increases in ever e-cigarette use prevalence were significantly lower among intervention schools (2.8%-4.9%) than among control schools (2.7%-8.9%), controlling for covariates ( P = .01). Intervention schools also had significantly greater improvements in e-cigarette knowledge (β = 0.71; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.21-1.21; P = .008) and perceived positive outcomes (β = –0.12; 95% CI, –0.23 to –0.02; P = .02) than control schools, controlling for covariates from baseline to 16-month follow-up. Conclusion: Ever e-cigarette use was lower among middle schools that implemented the CATCH My Breath program than among those that did not. Replication of findings among a larger sample of schools, using a group-randomized, longitudinal study design and a longer follow-up period, is needed.

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Youth access to JUUL online: eBay sales of JUUL prior to and following FDA action

Cited by 19 publications

References 8 publications

Underage JUUL Use Patterns: Content Analysis of Reddit Messages

Underage JUUL Use Patterns: Content Analysis of Reddit Messages

Unfriendly Fire: How the Tobacco Industry is Destroying the Future of Our Children

A Middle School Program to Prevent E-Cigarette Use: A Pilot Study of “CATCH My Breath”

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