harm and addiction Perceptions of the JUUL E-Cigarette among adolescents.

Introduction:
This text summarizes a study examining adolescents' harm and addiction perceptions of the JUUL e-cigarette, the highest-selling brand of the most commonly used tobacco product among youth in the United States. The study aims to estimate the proportions of adolescents who believe that using a JUUL e-cigarette and smoking conventional cigarettes would pose no risk to their health.

Key Points:

* The study employed a nationally representative sample of 9865 adolescents aged 13-17 years in the United States.
* Participants were asked about their harm and addiction perceptions of the JUUL e-cigarette and conventional cigarettes.
* The study found that most adolescents believed using a JUUL e-cigarette would carry at least some risk of developing health problems and addiction.
* however, a small but significant proportion of adolescents believed using a JUUL e-cigarette would cause them no harm or risk of becoming addicted.
* Current and former JUUL users were more likely to hold low-risk perceptions of using a JUUL e-cigarette.
* The study suggests that continued surveillance of adolescents' changing harm and addiction perceptions of the JUUL e-cigarette can inform the development of public health messages that differentiate the relative and absolute harms of using a JUUL e-cigarette during adolescence.

Main Message:
The study highlights the importance of understanding adolescents' perceptions of e-cigarettes, as these perceptions can influence their decisions to try and continue using these products. While most adolescents correctly believed that using a JUUL e-cigarette would put them at, at least, some risk for experiencing health problems and addiction, a small proportion believed that using a JUUL e-cigarette would be risk-free. Correcting such risk-free perceptions may reduce adolescents' interest in trying and continuing to use JUUL e-cigarettes, which is critical for protecting their health and preventing nicotine addiction.

Russell C, Katsampouris E, Mckeganey N. harm and addiction Perceptions of the JUUL E-Cigarette among adolescents. Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. 2020;22(5):713-721. doi:10.1093/ntr/ntz183