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Juul Study Looks Into Dependence and Use Characteristics of Adult Juul Users

A study funded by the Penn State College of Medicine Department of Psychiatry, analysed the self-reported dependence of Juul users, and looked into the relationship between levels of dependence and user behaviors.

Diane Caruana

January 28, 2021

The level of dependence on Juul is more similar to the dependency on other types of e-cigarettes, than to that on regular cigarettes.

The researchers recruited 76 adult Juul users via Amazon Mechanical Turk, to complete an online survey about their use patterns. The participants were asked to complete the Penn State Electronic Cigarette Dependence Index (PSECDI) and to answer questions about their Juul and tobacco use behaviours.

Titled, “Dependence and Use Characteristics of Adult JUUL Electronic Cigarette Users,” the study found that Juul users reported low to medium nicotine dependence on the PSECDI. The researchers equated the level of dependence on Juul as being more similar to the dependency on other types of e-cigarettes, than to that on regular cigarettes.

Increase in Juul market share has led to decrease in cigarette sales

Meanwhile, another recent study published by Juul Labs at the Academy Health 2020 Annual Research Meeting, had suggested that Juul’s market entry in Canada, has led to decreased cigarette sales.

Conducted and presented by Dr. Shivaani Prakash, Juul Labs’ Director of Health Economics and Policy Research, the study titled, “The Impact of Juul Market Entry on Cigarette Sales: Evidence of Store-Level Sales Declines from Canada,” found that within the first 12 months of market entry, the Juul device likely led to a 1.5% decrease on average in store-level cigarette sales volume, within one large retailer chain.

Using city-level data on cigarette and Juul sales in Canada and variation in timing for the Juul System’s market entry, researchers ran econometric difference-in-difference models. They concluded that overall, Canada’s decrease in cigarette sales in the first year of Juul’s entry in the market, could translate to over 400 million fewer cigarettes.

A decrease of 0.5% in cigarette sales measured, for every 1% increase in Juul’s market share

The researchers also found that the decline in cigarette sales kept increasing as Juul’s market share increased in stores, with a reported 0.5% reduction in cigarette sales, for every 1% increase in Juul’s market share. This suggests that the local tobacco market competition plays a major role in the uptake and purchase of e-cigarettes.