Why Banning JUUL is More Harmful Than Smoking
I don’t have kids, but I used to be one.
Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of posts from people applauding the JUUL ban as a great move toward protecting “our youth”.
Yet I can’t help thinking that opinion is a bit moronic (even if well-intended).
It’s not because I want my nieces or nephews swallowing up lung-fulls of cotton-candy flavored poison, either. But, I do care about being honest and protecting our freedom to choose and learn for ourselves.
Personally, I don’t think banning tobacco protects kids from addiction. In many cases, I imagine it makes things worse — and I would know.
I was a heavy tobacco user as a teen and through my early 20s. But not because of “Its addictive properties.”
As a teenager, I felt most of the major decisions in my life had already been made for me by adults. And tobacco offered one small act of rebellion that allowed me to exercise what little personal agency I still felt I had.
So, naturally, I gravitated toward things adults said were “off limits.” Because the only time I actually felt free was when I was breaking rules.
It’s a pity, too. Because I probably could’ve done a lot of cooler stuff when I was a teenager had I felt like…
