The evolution of the vaping industry, from its modest origins as a smoking cessation aid to its explosion into a multibillion-dollar industry, is chronicled in Netflix’s “Big Vape” series. The documentary examines the advertising strategies, academic research, and political debates that influenced the industry’s expansion in the past ten years.
The rise of Juul, a Silicon Valley start-up that transformed the e-cigarette business, is one of the series’ main plotlines. The show explores how young people were drawn to Juul’s attractive design and potent nicotine mix, which increased teen and young adult vaping. One of the series’ most intriguing aspects is its deep dive into the rise of Juul, a Silicon Valley start-up that revolutionized the e-cigarette market.
Juul Story
Juul was founded in the US in 2015 to produce e-cigarettes with interchangeable cartridges in various flavors. In just three years, the company expanded rapidly and was valued at an impressive $38 billion by investors. By 2018, Juul had acquired 75% of the US e-cigarette industry and had already begun operations in Asia, with plans to enter the European market with their best vape pens soon.
The idea behind Juul came from PAX Labs (formerly Ploom), a company established in 2007 by graduate students James Monsees and Adam Bowen from Stanford University. They believed the tobacco industry was outdated and lacked innovation, even though many clouds of smoke. In 2010, Ploom introduced PloomOne, an electronic cigarette-like device that used capsules containing tobacco but failed to catch on. Japan Tobacco International acquired the Ploom rights in 2015.
PAX Labs’ original vaporizer, created in 2012 as a tobacco vaping device, became widely used for consuming marijuana after a few years and two revisions. The Excellent Bud website lauded it as “the gold standard” and Gizmodo as “the smoking of the future.” In 2015, PAX Labs introduced the Juul electronic cigarette, which featured changeable 200-puff cartridges that could not be refilled. Each cartridge contained propylene glycol, glycerine, flavourings, and a proprietary form of nicotine salts, and the device automatically heated the liquid when a user inhaled.
The developers of Juul claim that their best vape pen improves the lives of a billion adult smokers by providing moderate flavour, leaving no odour after consumption, preventing consumers from breathing in the byproducts of burning tobacco, and allowing the nicotine to enter the bloodstream more quickly. The sleek design of Juul, which resembles a USB stick, and its various flavours, including crème brûlée, mango, vanilla, cucumber, and menthol, contributed to its widespread popularity. Each Juul cartridge contains 59 mg of nicotine (240mg in a pack), which is more nicotine than a complete collection of cigarettes.
While Juul has been prohibited from sale in the European Union due to its nicotine dosage surpassing the 20mg threshold allowed by EU laws, the company developed a new version of its cartridges with less nicotine in 2018, enabling it to enter the UK and Canadian markets.
Juul in Big Vape
The “Big Vape” series on Netflix provides a comprehensive overview of the vaping industry, with a particular focus on the success of Juul. The series highlights the various factors contributing to Juul’s rapid rise, including its innovative vape pens technology, sleek design, and diverse flavors. However, the series also delves into the controversies surrounding Juul, such as its high nicotine content, marketing practices, and impact on public health. Overall, “Big Vape” is an eye-opening series that sheds light on the complex and evolving world of vaping.
The series also explores the controversies in science regarding the potential health risks of vaping. While some studies have indicated that vaping is less harmful than smoking, others have raised questions about the potential dangers of breathing in nicotine and other substances over the long term. Interviews with public health professionals, proponents of vaping, and former smokers who have turned to vaping as a harm-reduction method are part of the series. “Big Vape” examines the political conflicts that have shaped the vaping industry and health issues. The documentary emphasizes public health organizations’ role in advocating for stronger vaping regulations and lobbying efforts by cigarette businesses and pro-vaping groups to legislators.
Juul’s Success Factors Naked
“Big Vape” highlights factors and critical events that led Juul to success. For example, its aggressive marketing approach, which many detractors have criticized. Initially, the company’s primary market consisted of adult smokers, and its advertisements frequently featured attractive young people using vape pens in social situations. Although many stated that these advertisements appealed to young people who had never smoked, Juul came under fire for supposedly focusing on children in its marketing.
Additionally, the brand’s social media presence caught people’s attention with posts highlighting the product and its tastes in vibrant, eye-catching ways. Juul, however, came under pressure to reduce its social media presence and alter its marketing strategies as worries about underage vaping grew.
Despite these problems, Juul’s popularity increased with its best vape pen for e liquid, and the business now controls the US e-cigarette market. However, Juul was the object of multiple lawsuits and investigations. Many claimed that the company purposefully targeted children with its marketing and hid the risks connected to its products. Regulators and lawmakers also put pressure on Juul; numerous towns and states passed laws that limited or prohibited the sale of e-cigarettes.
Juul has significantly altered its business model in reaction to these difficulties, including halting the sale of some flavors and starting campaigns to discourage child vaping. The corporation has also suffered enormous financial losses, as seen by the decline in valuation from $38 billion to $10 billion.
The emergence and collapse of Juul serve as a warning about the perils of the quick-moving tech sector and the pitfalls of developing products that could have negative repercussions. The “Big Vape” series does a great job telling this story and offers an exciting look at Juul’s rise and the ensuing controversy. The “Big Vape” series is a must-watch for anyone interested in the e-cigarette sector, public health, or the difficulties of entrepreneurship. The show offers a thorough and fair examination of Juul’s rise, providing information on the causes that contributed to its success and the problems it encountered. In addition, the Big Vape series will start crucial discussions about the future of this sector and the function of regulation in preserving public health, regardless of whether you are a proponent or a detractor of e-cigarettes.
