On Monday, March 26, 2018, at 12 noon, in Highland Park outside a former e-cigarette retail store (320 Raritan Avenue), Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) and municipal leaders from Highland Park will call on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take action to regulate what is colloquially known as “Juuling.”
A JUUL is a highly concentrated nicotine vaporizer which underage youngsters use to get a buzz. It is commonly mistaken for a USB flash drive, and it even charges when plugged into a laptop. Those characteristics make it easy to deceive teachers and to use in class. A rip from this device is usually referred to as a ‘wop’ and the stick itself is also known as a wop machine. Reportedly this new vaping device has “gone viral”on high school and college campuses and may be filtering down to the middle schools.
The purpose for Congressman Pallone’s action simply is to protect children from its harmful effects. Earlier this month, Rep. Pallone sent a letter to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb voicing his concerns over FDA’s decision to delay taking action to regulate juuling; therefore, JUUL would be able to stay on the market until 2022 without premarket review by the FDA. This will mean that JUUL will stay on the market for over four more years without proper public health oversight.
Highland Park has been a leader in combatting the dangers of vaping and e-cigarettes for children. The borough council passed an ordinance that fines electronic smoking retailers that sell products to underage youth. It also imposed a $600 licensing fee on all vape retailers to fund an enforcement program allowing health officers to conduct random inspections to verify compliance.