Fargo Cass Public Health shows parents what e-cigarettes to watch out for

The use of electronic cigarettes continues to rise among youth.

FARGO, N.D. –The use of electronic cigarettes continues to be on the rise among youth. According to the CDC, more than 27% of high school students reported using an e-cigarette in 2019.

Fargo Cass Public Health say there’s a common product parents should be watching out for.

“When parents don’t know what they Juul looks like, that is concerning,” said Fargo Cass Public Health’s tabacco prevention coordinator, Melissa Markegard.  “This is what a Juul looks like. This is what the Juul charger looks like. It looks like a USB. It magnetizes into the Juul itself and then it plugs into a USB.”

Health officials suggest not just looking for the e-cigarette itself, but looking for places it may be charging.

“If you have an Xbox or any kind of video game console in your house, check behind it because apparently there are USB plugins behind that so it’s a nice area to charge,” said Markegard.

Another newer product on the rise is the puff bar. Unlike a Juul, this type of product is disposable and comes in many flavors.

“They smell very good,” said Markegard. “They smell very enticing and that is part of the reason why we are concerned about devices like this because they are so enticing and they are so easy to hide.”

Some products can be even more deceiving in their design.

“There are things like the vape watch where the front face plate pops off and it becomes a vaping device. Not a lot of parents realize that this could be something too,” explained Markegard.

Fargo Cass Public Health says it is important to stop children from using these products sooner rather than later because it is easier to develop a nicotine addiction in a young brain that is still developing.