The Spark

the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist

“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx

JUUL, the Latest Addiction

Sep 2, 2019

A Congressional committee is investigating JUUL and similar products, the e-cigarettes accused of getting kids hooked on smoking.

These products are small, only the size of a USB; they produce no smoke; they contain nicotine; they come in fruity flavors. In other words, JUUL and others like it are perfect for teens who want to pretend to parents that they are not smoking when they are.

The makers of JUUL claimed the product would “improve the lives of a billion adults who would no longer smoke cigarettes.” But if people use JUUL, they take nicotine into their lungs. With every puff, they take in a poison that has helped kill millions who smoked cigarettes.

Can we expect Congress to do anything? Not if history tells us anything. Big Tobacco companies paid millions of dollars every year for decades in order to lobby politicians and successfully avoid regulations addressing the dangers of smoking.

Now Philip Morris, a cigarette manufacturer for 150 years, has an answer for Congress. Is JUUL like cigarettes? Yes. Is it likely to addict people? Yes. Is it going to make money for tobacco companies? Yes.

How do we know? Philip Morris just bought one third of JUUL’s stock.