How the company Juul single-handedly created the worst epidemic in America

Vapes were sold as a way to help those addicted to cigarettes quit.

However, all they actually did was get a generation of Americans hooked on electronic cigarettes — which aren’t healthy either.

Netflix’s “Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul” highlights the multibillion-dollar vape company that caused an epidemic and hence its own downfall.

“That was one of these Big Tech start-ups that was in the e-cigarette or vape business and that had a rocket ship of an ascension, and it turned out that, guess what, folks, news flash, inhaling smoke is not good for your lungs or your body and overall health,” Steve Kim of Jason Whitlock’s "Fearless" explains.

Kim notes that one of the most interesting things about Juul is “that it really used social media influence” in order to make the product go viral.

This is where it got dicey.

“They paid certain celebrities and influencers to go out there and market this. And it turned out, based on the social media craze, that it specifically seemed to target, unintentionally or intentionally, younger kids,” Kim says.

Before vapes there were cigarettes, which dealt with the same issue of marketing to children.

“I still remember the days of Joe Camel, another cartoon character, which [was] basically banned because the government stepped in,” Kim says, adding that it’s a little ironic that the government cares so much about the health of children when it comes to smoking — but not when it comes to permanently altering their bodies via “gender-affirming” care.

“Isn’t that a little bit strange? Isn’t there a bit of an inconsistency in a sense that we are telling people at certain points ‘my body, my choice,’ except when it comes to this or that?” Kim asks.

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