Study: Pod-Style Products Can be More Addictive

Pod-style vapor products have an efficient delivery of nicotine. A new study by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health finds that the nicotine salts used by the devices may foster greater dependence than other types of e-cigarettes.

According to the study, the design of pod-based e-cigarettes ensures the delivery of high doses of nicotine in a low pH form, which is less harsh compared to the higher pH nicotine found in most other e-cigarette brands, thus encouraging deeper inhalation.

This is the first paper to synthesize research findings on Juul and similar pod-based devices, said first author Stella Lee, formerly a National Cancer Institute Cancer Prevention postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences and currently an assistant professor at Konkuk University in South Korea, according to the Harvard Gazette.

“We found that pod-based e-cigarettes have a higher potential to get youth and young adults addicted than other devices,” she said. “To prevent this from happening, we need stronger health communication messages that alert people to these findings.”

The study will be published online June 1 in JAMA Pediatrics.