A 16-Year-Old in the U.S. Became Addicted to E-Cigarettes; Anti-E-Cigarette Advocates Protested Outs

On August 28, according to VapingPost, last week, some anti-e-cigarette parents and advocates protested outside the Juul office building in Manhattan.

It is understood that the protesters support a bill sponsored by City Councilman Mark Levine to "ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes in New York City" and urge the city council to restrict the "youth epidemic" caused by e-cigarette manufacturers like JUUL selling flavored nicotine pods.

Among the protesters was a sixteen-year-old who managed to quit e-cigarettes. "Kids start with flavored e-liquids," said 16-year-old Philip Fuhrman. "When my mom took my first e-cigarette away, I started feeling withdrawal symptoms, and that was when I realized I was addicted."

"I am trying to help my friends who are already addicted to quit and assist those who have not started or been exposed yet," he added. Philip's mother, Dorian Fuhrman, co-founded Parents Against Vaping. "There is now a youth epidemic, and unless we ban flavors, we will see more and more kids addicted to nicotine," she said.

Juul stated that it is doing its utmost to prevent youth addiction.

Meanwhile, last November, Juul has been making efforts to regain credibility and announced that it would ban the sale of flavored pods from over 90,000 stores nationwide.

In response to the protest, a Juul spokesperson pointed out that the company is taking active measures to prevent youth from using their products. "We have never marketed to young people, do not sell flavors like cotton candy or bubble gum, and have strongly advocated for Tobacco 21 legislation in New York. In November 2018, we stopped selling non-tobacco and non-menthol flavored pods to traditional retailers, which accounted for 50% of our revenue at that time. "

"All of our non-traditional tobacco-flavored pods are now exclusively sold through our e-commerce platform, which employs an industry-leading third-party age verification system to ensure that every purchase is made by customers over 21 and restricts bulk purchases. We provide these products in this limited and safe manner because they play an important role in helping smokers transition by offering flavors and aromas different from traditional tobacco," the spokesperson added.

The welfare of adult smokers should not be sacrificed.

Meanwhile, Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping Association, pointed out that in order to protect children, the welfare of adult smokers should not be sacrificed. "The positive impact on adults overwhelmingly outweighs any negative impact on youth," he said. "Clearly, we do not want young people using these vaping products, but we cannot take them away from adults who are trying to quit smoking."