The following is a public health message from the SD Department of Health.
Parents and teens need to talk about e-cigarette use and know the facts. The use of any tobacco product is unsafe for young people.
The newest e-cigarettes are shaped like flash drives and are being used at alarming rates by teens. JUUL and MarkTen Elite are two popular brands. These devices are discrete and come in an array of flavors targeted at kids.
JUULing is not just harmless flavor and water vapor as the vape can contain cancer-causing chemicals, heavy metals, tin, lead, and high levels of nicotine.
A single JUUL pod contains as much nicotine as a pack of 20 regular cigarettes. Young brains continue to develop until about age 25 and nicotine can harm a growing brain. Nicotine is known to damage brain circuits that control attention, learning, and susceptibility to addiction.
E-cigarette use among middle and high school students has now surpassed the use of regular cigarettes and continues to rise.
Following are links to several documents from the South Dakota Department of Health and United States Surgeon General that discuss JUULing and address the use of e-cigarettes and other vaping products:
For more information, please check out the following sources:
www.SDQuitLine.com or call 1.866.SD-QUITS