
The Promise of Vaping and the Rise of Juul - benbreen
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/05/14/the-promise-of-vaping-and-the-rise-of-juul
======
Clubber
I got hooked on cigarettes in the summer after 6th grade, many moons ago when
I learned how to inhale. I tried vaping, chewing, and nicorette but it didn't
quite cut it. I tried Juul a week or so ago and have only smoked a few
cigarettes since and haven't for a few days. It's a godsend.

Getting hooked on nicotine isn't a very good idea, but if you are going to do
it, Juul or vapes is a relatively healthy way to do it, simply because it
won't kill you like cigarettes might.

I think all the hysteria from these people in the article is because these
people can't disassociate vapes with cigarettes, particularly after the 2
decade long marketing campaign against cigarettes (with quite a bit of
hyperbole as evidenced in the article).

Long story longer, Juul might finally get me to quit (fingers crossed). Kids
are doing it which is dumb, but that's what kids do. Kids my age did the same
with cigarettes during my time, so it's going to happen. Thank goodness that
today having a nicotine addiction isn't as unhealthy as it was 20+ years ago.

One final thought; the only complaint I have with Juul is the disposable pods.
They should have some sort of recycling program or something. I can go through
a pod a day / day and a half.

~~~
soylentcola
I smoked for around 15 years (from college through my mid 30s) and the only
thing that got me to quit was the development of more functional nicotine
vaporizers. The old cigarette-looking ones didn't do the trick but I've got a
little battery thing that's about the size of two lighters stuck together and
a small tank that sits on top.

The only real hurdle was getting used to the change in how you use it versus
smoking. With smoking, you have a cig, get a massive dose of nicotine, and
then it tapers off in your bloodstream over the course of the next hour,
leading to that craving for another dose. It's a stimulant so I'd feel a bit
cranky and foggy until I had another smoke.

With vaporizers it's more like a hookah where I just sort of puff on it
throughout the day, getting a lower yet more steady dose. It took a bit of
getting used to but it was entirely more effective than any other nicotine
replacement I'd tried. More importantly, it was still enjoyable which is
something the gums and patches and sprays miss.

Since then, I've lowered the amount of nicotine to barely anything (maybe
2-3mg/ml) and read up on how to mix up the liquid so I'm not spending a
fortune and I know exactly what goes into that mist I'm occasionally inhaling.

I hear so many comedians and read articles where people make fun of "vaping"
as super lame and uncool, but I never gave a shit about that to begin with. I
just accepted that much like my morning coffee, I like the bit of mental
stimulation provided by a bit of nicotine and am thankful that I don't need to
inhale tars and carbon monoxide and particulates and all the nasty products of
combustion in order to get it. The idea that this is a "cool" thing the way
some insist that smoking is just makes me shake my head.

RE: the disposable cartridges, I could never really get into that either. I
don't like the waste or the cost and always gravitated to the things I could
just fill up myself and maybe swap out the wick every week. I'll always spend
that 5 minutes a week to avoid buying and tossing packs of plastic bits every
couple of days.

~~~
dvtv75
> I hear so many comedians and read articles where people make fun of "vaping"
> as super lame and uncool

This comes as a surprise to me, as the majority of people vaping are hipsters,
where I am.

I do know someone who tried to use it to quit smoking, but that lasted about a
week.

~~~
jstarfish
I used to work with a smoker who tried vaping as a means to quit smoking.

Vaping quickly became a way to get his fix in between his regularly scheduled
cigarettes.

------
__blockcipher__
To state the obvious, tobacco is far more harmful than you for pure nicotine,
but pure nicotine is harmful too - just to a way lesser extent, whereas drugs
like cannabis are (physically) completely harmless.

It's actually pretty shocking how not-bad-for-you weed is by comparison. I
used to think smoking cigarettes was bad because you're inhaling smoke, but it
turns out they're bad because you're inhaling a specific kind of pro-
inflammatory, oxidative-damage-causing smoke. Whereas something about
cannabis, whether it be the antioxidant effect or the different particle size,
makes it actually ridiculously safe.

[Sorry if I was off topic, but I see a lot of misconceptions about tobacco vs
nicotine vs cannabis in terms of relative harm)

~~~
sannee
> pure nicotine is harmful too

In what way? A summary [1] I have read some time ago does not seem to suggest
nicotine is really harmful in any obviously offputting way.

[1] [https://www.gwern.net/Nicotine#health-
issues](https://www.gwern.net/Nicotine#health-issues)

~~~
__blockcipher__
I've read the same summary. I agree nicotine isn't very bad overall, but
inhaling it is definitely not good for your lungs. This is anecdotal but I can
feel the difference in respiratory inflammation when vaping a lot as opposed
to just smoking/vaporizing weed.

And again, tobacco is an order of magnitude worse most likely (if not more).
But I highly doubt nicotine is completely harmless to the lungs, throat etc

------
thebigspacefuck
Why do people care about high schoolers getting addicted to this?

Is it the money they'll waste, that they might shorten their lifespan by a
couple of years, or just because they'll be addicted?

You could say the same things about Coffee, Video Games, or TV. There's so
much to be addicted to and so little time. At the same time it helps adults
that are already addicted to cigarettes extend their life span, save money,
and maybe become less addicted.

I fail to see an issue.

~~~
Regardsyjc
One because it is illegal. Nicotine smoking age is 21 in the USA.

I might be wrong but I am pretty sure that nicotine is way more addictive than
coffee, TV, or video games and the problem is that teenagers are already
addicted.

 _“You fall asleep with your Juul under your pillow,” my other friend said.

_ “With Juul, the pattern of use isn’t kids having a cherry vape every now and
then,” he said. “It’s kids sneaking off to the bathroom, kids vaping
consistently throughout the day.”

~~~
sli
> Nicotine smoking age is 21 in the USA.

That is not true. The federal smoking age is 18, and many states do not have a
minimum smoking age set at all, only a minimum _purchase_ age.[0] This means
they simply defer to federal law. Some states made 21 the purchase age, but it
is not federally mandated.

[0]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking_age#Americas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking_age#Americas)

