Despite the recent vaping ban, teenagers across America continue to puff on e-cigarettes: they’ve found a loophole in the Trump administration’s new policy. In January 2020, the Food and Drug Administration banned mint, dessert and fruit-flavors in refillable e-cigarettes such as Juul. But as a footnote on the policy states that flavors for non-refillable devices can still be sold, teens immediately dropped their Juuls in favor of disposable e-cigs such as NJOY, Puff Bars and Posh. Apart from being technically legal, there are other reasons why teens are making the switch to disposables and are saying goodbye to the famous vape pen.
It’s a lot cheaper
The Juul, which has become somewhat of a celebrity-approved accessory, costs about $20, and the refills are priced at $30 for four pods. In contrast, NJOY costs less than $6, Puff Bars cost only about $6.25 to $7 per piece, and Posh is priced at $6.99 per disposable e-cigarette. For most teens on an allowance, buying disposables is definitely more cost-effective compared to refillable e-cigarettes.
Lower nicotine levels
A Juul pod has roughly about 0.7 ml of nicotine, which is about the equivalent of 20 cigarettes. Meanwhile, a Puff Bar disposable vape pen comes in two variants – one with 2 percent nicotine and another with 5 percent nicotine. The low nicotine levels may lead teens to believe that it’s perfectly safe to smoke disposables round the clock; however, there have been cases in which teens have experienced severe lung injuries due to vaping. As medical bills to treat inflamed lungs can be quite hefty, parents may look into filing a vaping lawsuit to pay for damages and hospital bills. There have been previous claims that vape pen manufacturers are targeting teens in their marketing strategy, so it may help to seek a lawyer’s advice regarding this matter.
Sweeter, fruitier flavors
The vaping ban has left Juul with no choice but to omit all flavors, except mint and tobacco, from their product lineup. However, as the flavor restriction doesn’t apply to disposables, teens can still get their sweet nicotine fix anytime they want. NJOY comes in watermelon, blueberry, apple crisp, apple melon and blackberry flavors, and the first two are the brand’s most popular variants. Puff Bar has vape pens in mango, pink lemonade, lychee, strawberry and pineapple lemon flavors, while Posh has nine flavors, including cotton candy, lush ice and frozen grapes. The variety encourages teens to try all the vape pen flavors that range from mild to extremely sweet. Moreover, as these disposable vape pens don’t contain a trace of that burned tobacco aftertaste that comes with smoking conventional cigarettes, it makes the experience better for young smokers who want a hit of nicotine.
Vape culture is alive and well amidst fears of a growing health problem among the youth of America. Though the battle against refillable e-cigarettes may have been won at this time, the government may have to revise its current policy to include disposables in its ban if it wants to win the war against teenage vaping.
