Juul Launches New E-Cigarettes That Monitor When And Where You Use Them

The controversial debate regarding vaping giant Juul has been going on for years. When the slim and subtle vaping device first came out, there was a lot of misinformation regarding exactly what it was. Many young people were led to believe that vaping was totally harmless, yielding none of the life-threatening health consequences of traditional cigarettes. Juul e-cigarettes operate using flavored cartridges, or pods. The flavors of the pods, which include Fruit Medley, Cool Mint, and Mango, are particularly appealing to young people. As a result, a lot of minors have become hooked on nicotine at an early age, according to Men’s Health.

The original intention of this device was to help adult smokers finally kick the habit by offering them a less risky habit to take on. The pods that the Juul operates with do not include tar or many of the other substances found in traditional cigarettes. Nevertheless, it is still far from healthy to vape. Taking in too much nicotine, especially at a young age, can cause heart problems and harm the development of the brain. For these reasons, the FDA has been trying to restrict Juul’s sales for months.

You are supposed to be at least 18-years-old to purchase any Juul products, but that doesn’t stop minors from paying their older friends to buy pods for them. Thus, Juul has come up with a new product that will hopefully help monitor vaping and appease the FDA. The company recently launched its new smart e-cigarettes. These devices will collect information regarding the user, even tracking when and where they vape.

The device will reportedly even utilize facial recognition software to keep the device out of the hands of children. However, there have already been some concerns about how the company will use the data they collect from their customers.

Dan Thomson, a spokesperson for Juul, recently stated that the company’s intention is to offer the data they collect to their customers for their own access.

Here's a scenario: the data Juul's upcoming smart device collects about your smoking habits is picked up by third-party data brokers, which then gets into the hands of your health insurance provider. That's on the table under its current privacy policy. https://t.co/mprAnqedtX

— Medium (@Medium) May 15, 2019

“The objective of us designing this product was not for us to collect data per se. It was to be able to give data to customers,” he said.

Still, many think that the company will have to do far more to end the epidemic of youth vaping.

Recently, a 19-year-old sued Juul because he claims their products caused him to have a stroke. The man, 22-year-old Maxwell Berger, had been vaping two pods a day for years when the stroke occurred.