The next thing in vaping

Jon Ambrose, right, looks for a vaping liquid for Tyler Geragi, of Danbury, at the Twilight Vapor Shop in Danbury, Conn. Thursday, May 3, 2018. Jon Ambrose, right, looks for a vaping liquid for Tyler Geragi, of Danbury, at the Twilight Vapor Shop in Danbury, Conn. Thursday, May 3, 2018. Photo: H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media Photo: H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 14 Caption Close The next thing in vaping 1 / 14 Back to Gallery

DANBURY - If you’re vague about the whole vaping thing, chances are you have no clue about Juul pods.

And who could blame you? The fast-moving vaping industry has made today’s electronic cigarettes so discreet, so cheap and so sweet that they bear almost no resemblance to the tobacco kids lit up a generation ago.

And that concerns educators and health advocates, who worry that the youth appeal of e-cigarettes will hook a new generation on nicotine at a time when schools have nearly vanquished cigarette smoking from stairwells, bathrooms and playgrounds.

“No one knows what is going to happen to this generation in 10 years,” says Dan Donovan, principal of Danbury High School, where vaping incidents are up 49 percent over last year. “Nicotine is a very addictive substance.”

Today’s way to vape is with a Juul - a flat, pen-sized device with a small rectangular pod that holds nicotine-infused liquid. The Juul vapor is less detectable than cigarette smoke, making it easier to conceal in school.

Popular Juul flavors include mango, crème brulee and cool cucumber.

“It doesn’t really taste like cucumber,” says Brittany Lombardi, 21, buying a Juul pack at Twilight Vapor in Danbury. “It tastes like sweet water.”

Hearing Lombardi’s story, it’s easy to understand how Juul has become the dominant brand in America’s $4 billion vaping industry, growing from 5 percent of the e-cigarette market in 2016 to 55 percent of the market today, according to Nielsen Research.

“I used to smoke cigarettes and this is how I quit, with the Juul,” said Lombardi. “It’s easy, it’s definitely more cost-effective, and compared to regular cigarettes, it is definitely better for you.”

While health organizations and anti-smoking groups might argue with Lombardi’s health claim, their main objection is that leading vaping brands such as Juul appeal to kids as much as adults.

The youth appeal is no accident, critics say.

“Juul involves gimmicks and promotions like T-shirts and hoodies and backpacks that are clearly aimed at children,” said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who has called on the Food and Drug Administration to crack down on underage vaping. “It involves candy flavors and colors that are aimed at children, and if the FDA fails, I think these companies should be taken to court and stronger laws should be adopted.”

Blumenthal says the battle is being lost.

E-cigarettes are the most common tobacco product used by kids, according to the federal government. An estimated 10 percent of high school students vape nationwide. In Connecticut, 7 percent of high school student use e-cigarettes.

Nicotine exposure during brain development can “disrupt the growth of brain circuits that control attention, learning and susceptibility to addiction,” according to the Surgeon General.

Blumenthal’s call for a crackdown follows FDA action at the end of April, when the agency warned convenience stores, gas stations, vape shops and online retailers not to sell Juul products to children under 18 years old. The FDA also ordered Juul to turn over design and marketing documents to determine whether children were being targeted.

In response, San Francisco-based Juul Labs announced it would spend $30 million on a campaign to combat underage vaping.

At the same time, the FDA is being sued by the American Heart Association and other organizations for postponing its plans to regulate the e-cigarette industry.

Under a rule established in 2016, vaping companies were required to submit their products for FDA review by last August, but that deadline has been moved to 2022.

The reason: the FDA is keeping an open mind about the potential of vaping to wean smokers off cigarettes. FDA Chairman Scott Gottlieb said in March that he didn’t want to “snuff out the potential for innovation before we really have the proper opportunity to evaluate it,” the Associated Press reported.

Meghan Martins, Danbury High School’s associate principal for instruction, disagrees.

“Vaping and Juul is just the newest method for ruining your lungs,” said Martins, adding that high schoolers are shocked to learn that there are trace amounts of formaldehyde in vaping liquid.

While there are no long-term studies about the effects of formaldehyde and other chemicals inhaled during vaping, the practice is thought to be less of a health risk than cigarette smoking, which is linked to lung cancer and heart disease, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

The same CDC cautions that all nicotine poses a health risk, especially on the developing brain of adolescents, and that the underage use of e-cigarettes is strongly discouraged.

Meanwhile, Danbury and some suburban school districts are adjusting to the spike in Juuls and other vapes with an information campaign.

At John Barlow High School in Redding, for example, where vaping cases jumped to 36 in 2017 from 2 cases in 2016, administrators are sending out more information to families in the school newsletter.

In Danbury, the high school sets up a vaping table displaying confiscated e-cigarettes during school events.

“We were getting such an influx of kids that have these (vapes) that we now make them do their two days of in-school suspension and we make them write me a letter explaining the pros and cons of vaping,” said Donovan, who runs the largest high school in the state. “We give them materials to read and research, because no one is looking at this. No one knows what is in this stuff.”

rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342