The company Juul was created to help people quit smoking cigarettes, but the product has become a dangerous trend.

While the Food and Drug Administration has begun cracking down on this issue by banning flavors kids enjoy, more action needs to be taken to educate kids about the risks of Juul.

According to a November 2018 fact sheet by Tobacco-Free Kids, e-cigarette use has increased significantly, to 78 percent among high school students and 48 percent among middle school students in the past year. Eighty-one percent of kids say they use Juul because they like the flavor.

Unfortunately, since kids have already begun to use the product, they may unknowingly be addicted to nicotine.

According to an April 2018 article by the Truth Initiative, 63 percent of Juul users don’t know there is nicotine in the device, making them unaware of the danger.

An April 2018 article by the American Academy of Pediactrics stated that the concentration of nicotine in Juul is twice the amount of other e-cigarettes.

Those high levels put youth at a greater risk for addiction and make them more likely to use tobacco cigarettes.

It’s no surprise that fruity flavors attract kids. The discreet look of the Juul also makes it easy for kids to vape in any place.

Since e-cigarettes produce vapor, there is no smell. This lets kids vape in school and at home without getting caught.

Similar to the big tobacco companies, e-cigarette companies target young people with advertisements.

Juul has deleted all social media pages besides Twitter in an effort to stop promoting to youth, but much of the promotion is not from the company itself.

From tweets to memes, accounts are bringing a sense of “coolness” to using the product while ignoring the risks for young people.

Our country has battled youth tobacco use for decades, but the invention of e-cigarettes, particularly Juul, has created a new battle.

While there is general knowledge among kids about cigarettes being bad, there isn’t the same level of judgment surrounding e-cigarettes.

The U.S. fought to lower cigarette use among kids, and the same needs to be done with e-cigarettes.