One SHS sophomore student remembers her first time using a Juul, which is a type of e-cigarette. One of her friends she was with at the time owned a Juul and constantly smoked it, and she became very curious over time and one day asked to hit it. When she first inhaled, she coughed obnoxiously and her throat felt funny. Even after this feeling, she still continues to use it to this day.

Mary* says she started using a Juul because it was popular and she had one there, readily available.  She first started using the Juul when her sister wanted one. She bought one for her sister and now she uses it daily.

“I’m not addicted to it, I would say,” Mary said. “I vape because I just have one and it’s fun.”

Mary says she thinks that it’s so popular between teens today because of the stigma of the topic. Since it’s illegal for kids under 18 she believes that they flock to the idea of something so simple to use.

Although she uses it every day, she feels as if it’s not a threat unless it leads someone to smoke cigarettes. She thinks that since cigarettes cost more and are more harmful, using a Juul is only bad if it leads one to more harmful things. According to her, a huge part of the community surrounding Juuls can be peer pressure. Some kids can be pressured into it because it’s “cool” and “why wouldn’t you,” she said. According to “The Buzz”, lots of kids get addicted to cigarettes who never intended to because of Juuls.

“I’m aware of when I’m being peer pressured into something, and I wasn’t,” Mary said.

Even though she Juuls every day, she feels as if though she could stop anytime. She thinks she will most likely stop next year. Or even when the trend or phase goes away. According to “Healthline”, kids are more susceptible to nicotine addiction with vapes because of how young their brain is, and it’s even harder to quit because of that.