E-cigarettes Shaped Like USB Flash Drives: Information for Parents, Educators and Health Care Providers

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E-cigarettes shaped like USB flash drives: Information for Parents, Educators, and Health Care Providers
E-cigarettes shaped like USB flash drives: Information for Parents, Educators, and Health Care Providers

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are battery-powered devices that can deliver nicotine and flavorings to the user in the form of an aerosol. E-cigarettes come in many shapes and sizes.

Image of e-cigarette devices and people.

WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?

Image of a e-cigarette and a usb device.
A new e-cigarette shaped like a USB flash drive is being used by students in schools.
Image of a cloud and an exclamation point.
Nicotine is highly addictive and can harm brain development, which continues until about age 25.
Image of someone smoking an e-cigarette
The use of any tobacco product – including e-cigarettes – is unsafe for young people.
Image of a person holding books
Parents, educators, & health care providers can help prevent and reduce the use of all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, by young people.

AN INCREASINGLY POPULAR E-CIGARETTE DEVICE, CALLED JUUL,

IS SHAPED LIKE A USB FLASH DRIVE.

Image of an e-cigarette
Use of JUUL is sometimes called “JUULing.”
Image of the flavors that can be used with e-cigarettes: strawberries, cucumbers, mint, peaches

 

JUUL’s nicotine liquid refills are called “pods.” JUUL is available in several flavors such as Cool Cucumber, Fruit Medley, Mango, and Mint.

Image of a pack of cigarettes equally an e-cigarette

All JUUL e-cigarettes have a high level of nicotine. According to the manufacturer, a single JUUL pod contains as much nicotine as a pack of 20 regular cigarettes.

Image of people in a classroom

 

JUUL became available for sale in the United States in 2015. As of December 2017, JUUL is the top-selling e-cigarette brand in the United States.

News outlets and social media sites report widespread use of JUUL by students in schools, including in classrooms and bathrooms.

Other devices are becoming available that look like USB flash drives. Examples include the MarkTen Elite, a nicotine delivery device, and the PAX Era, a marijuana delivery device that looks like JUUL.
Images of three brands of e-cigarettes: JUUL, MarkTen Elite, and PAX Era

E-CIGARETTE USE IS NOT SAFE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.

E-cigarette aerosol is not harmless. It can contain harmful ingredients. However, e-cigarette aerosol generally contains fewer harmful chemicals than smoke from burned tobacco products, like regular cigarettes.

image of a person with a gray cloud of smoke coming out of them and in the cloud are icons with labels: Volatile Organic Compounds; Nicotine; Ultrafine Particles; Cancer-Causing Chemicals; Heavy Metals such as Nickel, Tin, and Lead; Flavoring such as Diacetyl, A chemical linked to a serious lung disease
Icon with text: volatile organic compounds
icon with label: Nicotine
Icon with label: Ultrafine particles
Icon with label: Cancer-causing chemicals
Label: Heavy metals such as nickel, tin, and lead
Icon with label: Flavoring such as Diacetyl, a chemical linked to a serious lung disease
Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is highly addictive and can harm brain development, which continues until about age 25.
Image of a circle with chemical codes, a cloud and an exclamation mark.
Young people who use e-cigarettes may be more likely to go on to use regular cigarettes.
Image of a person smoking an e-cigarette and again smoking a regular cigarette.

PARENTS, EDUCATORS, AND HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS CAN HELP PREVENT AND REDUCE THE USE OF E-CIGARETTES BY YOUNG PEOPLE.

Image of parents

PARENTS CAN:

  • Learn about the different shapes and types of e-cigarettes and the risks of all forms of e-cigarette use for young people.
  • Talk to their children about the risks of e-cigarette use among young people. Express firm expectations that their children remain tobacco-free.
  • Set a positive example by being tobacco-free.
Image of a teacher

EDUCATORS CAN:

  • Learn about the different shapes and types of e-cigarettes and the risks of all forms of e-cigarette use for young people.
  • Develop, implement, and enforce tobacco-free school policies.
  • Reject youth tobacco prevention programs sponsored by the tobacco industry. These programs have been found to be ineffective for preventing youth tobacco use.
Image of a doctor

PEDIATRIC HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS CAN:

  • Ask about e-cigarettes, including devices shaped like USB flash drives, when screening patients for the use of any tobacco products.

  • Warn patients about the risks of all forms of tobacco product use, including e-cigarettes, for young people.

Image of hands holding up a sign that says Parents, Educators and Health Care providors can help

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