Prue Talbot, professor in the Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology at the University of California, Riverside, and his team lead a study about JUUL e-cigarettes. Even the Food and Drug Administration has raised concerns about the levels of nicotine in the JULL e-cigarettes and the popularity among adolescents. JUUL e-cigarettes are made by JUUL Labs, an electronic cigarette company, and their products have scattered between middle and high school students.
What Had the Study Revealed about JUUL E-Cigarettes?
Talbot is stating that the nicotine concentrations are high, and this could be cytotoxic or toxic to the living cells. Moreover, much incredible is the fact that JUUL is the only electronic cigarette product that has those high concentrations of nicotine. And that’s not all; the problem with this toxic level of nicotine is also giving addiction to smokers.
Also, JUUL e-cigarettes come in eight different flavors, and each of them has a high concentration of flavor chemicals to make them attractive to youth. Among these flavor chemicals, they have found ethyl maltol that is correlated with cytotoxicity. But again, the high level of nicotine is the one that creates problems. The concentration of nicotine found in JUUL is around 61 milligrams per milliliter of fluid in pods. In translation that means more than one pack of conventional cigarettes.
Can Authorities Take any Action?
Director Talbot is hoping that the FDA will limit the permissible concentrations of nicotine in the JUUL electronic cigarettes. Also, the FDA is trying to prevent even the sale of these electronic cigarettes to people under 21. The advertisements that promote e-cigarettes and JUUL products as an alternative is increasing the use of these products. The warnings are severe, as Talbot says that various flavor chemicals present in JUUL e-cigarettes can elicit varying toxic effects. For example, diacetyl is an ingredient found in popcorn, but inhaled can cause lung disease. Other flavors like cinnamaldehyde, menthol, and ethyl vanillin are also found in sweet.
