On August 11th, a group of researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine published a study that revealed a link between teens who vape and higher risks of COVID-19. The research concluded that teens who used e-cigarettes (“vape”) were found to be five to seven times more likely to be infected by COVID-19 than those who did not use e-cigarettes.  

Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, Ph.D., professor of pediatrics and senior author of the study said, “teens and young adults need to know that if you use e-cigarettes, you are likely at immediate risk of COVID-19 because you are damaging your lungs.” As a respiratory virus, COVID-19 attacks the lungs which are significantly weakened by vaping and leave teens more susceptible to contracting COVID-19 and vulnerable to the devastating symptoms the virus can cause.  

Another author from the study, Dr. Shivani Mathur Gaiha, said “young people may believe their age protects them from contracting the virus or that they will not experience symptoms of COVID-19, but the data show this isn’t true among those who vape.” She later added, “the study tells us pretty clearly that youth who are using vapes or are dual-using [e-cigarettes and cigarettes] are at elevated risk, and it’s not just a small increase in risk; it’s a big one.”  

Working with over 4,000 surveys from participants ages 13 to 24 who lived in all 50 states, the researchers were able to evenly divide the pool between those who had never used a nicotine product and those who had previously used e-cigarettes. After adjusting their results to account for confounding factors such as age, sex, race, and socio-economic factors, the researchers were surprised to see such elevated risks associated with vaping.  

Unfortunately, this is only the latest news in the ongoing research into e-cigarettes and the unknown effects of vaping on young people. In addition to finding that teens who vape are five times more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19 and almost seven times more likely if they use both e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes, the study also sheds light on how much JUUL and other notable e-cigarette companies have shifted the market for young people. Of the young people surveyed, only a small number of the participants who had used a nicotine product in the last 30 days said they only used cigarettes as opposed to the large majority that had consumed only e-cigarettes or a mix of both e-cigarettes and cigarettes.  

JUUL already facing countless lawsuits

As you may know, JUUL is currently facing a tremendous number of lawsuits that allege they purposefully targeted an underage demographic and failed to include adequate warning labels to notify consumers of the extremely high nicotine levels and addictive nature of using a JUUL product.  

These allegations came following statistics that showed that from 2017 to 2018, during the rise of JUUL, there was a 78 percent increase in the use of e-cigarettes among high school students and a 48 percent increase among middle school students. With a higher nicotine concentration than cigarettes, “juuling” can actually leave consumers more susceptible to nicotine addiction than traditional cigarettes. Neither the high nicotine level nor the addictiveness of nicotine was originally mentioned in the warning labels on the product.

If being responsible for the addiction of hundreds of thousands of youth wasn’t bad enough, there are a growing number of cases of respiratory issues connected to the use of e-cigarettes. In 2019, as the number of patients hospitalized in connection to the use of e-cigarettes grew, new regulations were put in place to slow the growing popularity of e-cigarettes among young people. Of the reported cases, most of the patients were admitted for issues related to an inability to breathe. The majority of the symptoms were:

-Difficulty breathing

-Chest pain

-Vomiting

-Fatigue

-Popcorn Lung (Symptoms of Popcorn Lung can be wheezing, coughing, chest pain, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing)

-Asthma

-Chronic Bronchitis

Do you have a case against JUUL?

JUUL must be held accountable for their part in causing thousands of underage users to become addicted to nicotine products as well as the injuries and damages that have come from the use of their devices. Those who have been adversely affected by the improper targeting of underage users and their lack of proper warning labels may be eligible for considerable compensation.

If you or someone close to you has experienced the symptoms mentioned above, been hospitalized in a related health issue, or are struggling with a nicotine addiction from a JUUL device, you may be eligible for compensation for the damages caused by JUUL without ever having to step foot in court. Fill out our free case review here and a legal representative will contact you about your potential case.

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