Fifty-eight percent of respondents reported using pods because they are easy to hide
TUESDAY, March 17, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Young adults report ever use of Juul more often than smoking cigarettes and using non-pod-based electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), according to a study published online March 16 in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
Karma McKelvey, Ph.D., M.P.H., and Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, Ph.D., from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, and colleagues describe young adult use and perceptions of pod-based e-cigarettes versus non-pod-based e-cigarettes using data from 445 participants (mean age, 20.1 years) who completed an online survey.
The researchers found that >25 percent of participants reported ever use of Juul, while <25 percent reported smoking cigarettes and using non-pod-based e-cigarettes. Use in the past 30 days was reported by <33 percent of cigarette smokers and non-pod-based e-cigarette users compared with >50 percent of Juul ever users. Fifty-eight percent reported using pods because they are easy to hide. About half of pod users did not know whether they mixed brands of e-juice and pods, the nicotine concentration in e-juice cartridges, or how quickly they finished a cartridge. Half of the participants shared their pods, including 15, 13, 11, and 11 percent who sometimes, always, about half the time, or often shared their pods, respectively.
“Teens are not using these pod-based products more than other e-cigarettes because of health or the flavors offered,” Halpern-Felsher said in a statement. “They tell us, ‘It’s because we can hide these, and the smell produced is less obvious.’ This ability to ‘stealth use’ is concerning.”
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