For teenagers, every new popular fad can be addicting and something everyone wants to try, even if it is only for a few weeks. The new fad that everyone is into is juuling. If an individual is 18 years old, they can legally go to a vape/tobacco store and purchase a juul for around $24 to $47 and then also buy pods (what they put in the juul to get the different flavors of smoke) for $16. Even as these prices start to add up, it seems like vaping is out and juuling is in.

“Not only are Juul vaporizers small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, they can be charged when plugged into a laptop’s USB slot, making it easy for students to pass them off as flash drives in class,” said Lyndsey Matthews of Women’s Health.

Many teenagers do not realize the harmful consequences of juuling. Juuls contain nicotine which is highly addictive and can put them at higher risk of using this gateway drug start other activities like smoking cigarettes.

“Nicotine is extremely addictive and it can act as a neurotoxin and alter brain chemistry so the brain doesn’t function normally without it,” says Carol Southard, R.N., tobacco treatment specialist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. “This can be especially harmful for teenagers whose brains are still developing.”

Many people use e-cigarettes as a substitute for real cigarettes, and think they are better because they do not have some of the cancer causing chemicals.

“Considering that one Juul pod contains the same amount of nicotine as a pack of cigarettes, it is problematic for teens to start using these,” said Matthews.

So is it really worth it to be a juul god?