Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul

So the US government basically got rid of the only reputable vape system in the US and now the most popular disposable vape comes from China. How does this make any sense? As long as vape exists, kids are going to use it, so doesn't it make more sense that it should be made in the US? Some of these reviews that I have read are about the legitimacy of vaping. It should be about this documentary, which is very well-made. Vaping is a viable alternative to smoking cigarettes and the US government has ignorantly eliminated the best possible alternative. This just goes to show how politicians are so out of touch with the common man.

It's a classic capitalism tale where original founders with good intentions start a company with the hope of changing the world for good but then money hungry CEOs with deep pockets take over and prioritise quick marketing at the expense of consumers.

I'll admit that maybe the reason I didn't like this documentary could be because I'm not the target audience but I'm sure it didn't need to be 4 episodes long and a 90 minute doc would've been much more engaging. I think it's an important narrative to tell but the documentary didn't inform me of anything new or give me any new perspectives so I felt a bit let down on that front.

They repeated so much information especially in the final 2 episodes that, for me, it started to feel too repetitive and simple. By the 4th episode it felt dragged out with minutes of interview clips just repeating what the audience already knows.

I also couldn't help but feel that by the end of the final episode, I had just spent about 2 hours watching a really longer advert for Juul.

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.

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.

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.