I am often asked to provide information to various groups about specific topics. Lecturing to large and small groups has been something that I have enjoyed for a long time. Speaking has taken me up and down the East coast from New Hampshire to Florida. I have spoken to groups primarily involved with health care delivery, but of late I find myself often talking to the lay public, and so it was that I found myself talking to a group of teachers, administrators and others involved with our educational system. The information requested was on e-cigarettes or vaporizers and the latest iteration of these devices, the JUUL.
I put together what I thought was a very informative set of slides that talked about the history of e-cigarettes, the problem with nicotine addiction, the actual anatomy of an e-cigarette and commented about the latest craze, being the JUUL. I offered a balanced approach to the question of safety and the place for these products in any smoking cessation program. Some time was spent on the problems JUULs are causing, specifically their marketing to adolescents and teenagers and their ability to create a whole new population of people addicted to nicotine.
At the end I asked, as I always do, if there were any questions. All of the questions focused on the ability of e-cigarettes to allow marijuana to be smoked. Some referred to medical marijuana, but others seemed more interested in the real thing. Interesting questions from this group.
