El gran vapeo: Auge y caída de Juul

If you are wondering why vaping became so popular, you should check out this documentary series. The answer to that question is a combination of an altruistic mission to try to get people to stop smoking and one of the biggest social experiments of a generation. Honestly, probably multiple generations. The style of the documentary is a bit questionable, there are gratuitous scenes of animation interspliced with talking head interviews and one lady who seems to be far too enthusiastic about many of her talking points, include teenage deaths and the ultimate futility of life as a member of gen Z. I think its message is an important one. I personally Wonder what the results of this experiment will be in 20, 30 or 50 years will we see an entire generation of people wiped out by cancer? Or will consuming nicotine and high amounts have no adverse effects? These are important questions, it seems insane to consider that in the rush for technological innovation no one at that company asked themselves that question.

Gave this a go primarily because it's exhausting searching for something new. This story is actually pretty interesting and if they dug more into unraveling the actual business it would be great. But they spent a crazy amount of time with these influencers and it distracted greatly from the problems this company found itself facing. I mean.. they have Taylor Lorenz in this documentary, why?? It's all of these unnecessary interviews and frivolous input from these outside characters that drag this storyline on too long. I guess I was more looking for an examination of the failures of the business and this would be business case study with some backstory on the founders and the current legal problems. It isn't awful by any means, this doc just incorporates too many erroneous characters that don't really provide any value to the story.

As Episode 1 of "Big Vape" (2023 release; 4 episodes ranging from 43 to 51 min) opens, we are introduced to Stanford students and smokers James Monsees and Adam Bowen. On a smoke break, they fantasize of coming up with a better product that is less harmful to a person's health. Upon graduating from Stanford, they pursue their crazy idea... At this point we are 10 minutes into the documentary.

Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from longtime writer-producer-director R. J. Cutler. Here he reassesses the legacy of the maker of "the iPhone of e-cigarettes". I was vaguely aware of the rise and fall of Juul, but to see it laid out like this gives a entirely new perspective. And as it turns out, Monsees and Bowen say one thing (to rid the world of cigarette smoking), only to end up doing a great deal of harm themselves, and for what. (Money, of course!) Check out Episode 3, focusing on the teen vaping crisis that overwhelmed this country (and still does a lot of damage today). And what of Big Tobacco in all this? Just watch! These 4 episodes flew by in no time. Last but not least: this is listed on IMDb and several other platforms as "Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul". There is not a single reference to that in the 4 part documentary, which is simply tltled "Big Vape".

"Big Vape" premiered on Netflix earlier this week. I binge-watched all 4 episodes in a single setting. If you have any interest in how one company decided to take on Big Tobacco by creating a supposed less harmful alternative, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

So we have to label nicotine products with a warning: "Nicotine is addictive" but not sugar products? Or caffeinated coffee or green tea (which also contains nicotine)? Nicotine is used to treat Parkinsons. Nicotine is basically the same as vitamin B3 found in every multivitamin. It is basically harmless when inhaled. Check out Discover magazine's article about this "wonder drug" and draw your own conclusions.

The business aspect of the story on the other hand is pretty cool but they chose a questionable demographic in young people who don't typically have the wherewithal or wisdom to practice constraint.

The hypocrisy runs deep when it comes to protecting kids from unhealthy practices and the likelihood is that the tobacco lobby is behind the anti vape movement.

The documentary is very good, but the problem is because JUUL was on top of the mountain during the whole vape epidemic, they took all the bad press. Kids were buying pods off market with a bunch of crap in it but because JUUL was the name brand that they took all the bad press. It wasn't totally all their fault. The documentary is pretty good and I know for sure what was going on because I was in the middle of it as I was working in talent acquisition as a JUUL Partner during this time. I have talked to some of the people in the interviews and while they did grow substantially and they did come and market too younger kids at the end they are responsible for the choices not JUUL.