Juul removed fruity flavors but teens actually like mint

A survey of the "youth" has found that mint is the most popular Juul Pod flavor among tenth and twelfth grade Juulers, and the second most popular among eighth graders who Juul (behind mango).

The study could have broader implications for the efficacy of Juul's anti-teen vaping measures. In October, Juul suspended the sale of flavored Juul pods as part of an effort to curb teen vaping. However, it kept mint — which the study shows is teens' preferred flavor, anyway.

SEE ALSO: Juul suspends sales of its most delicious flavor pods

Researchers at USC conducted a survey of 14,191 nationally representative eighth to twelfth graders. That yielded a sample of 1,739 respondents who reported Juuling in the past 30 days and included flavor preference data. The study was published Tuesday in JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

The survey found that mint rules the day among high school Juulers and young heavy Juulers (teens who used Juul on 20 or more days in the past month) within all age groups. According to the survey, 47 percent of seniors and 44 percent of tenth graders who Juul say mint is their preferred flavor. Meanwhile, 34 percent of eighth graders prefer mango, while 29 percent opt for mint.

These findings don't come as a surprise to anti-tobacco youth health advocates. When Juul suspended flavor pods, which included mango, creme, fruit, and cucumber, in October, organizations such as the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids criticized Juul for keeping mint on the menu since they knew it was popular among kids.

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Along with mint, Juul also kept menthol. Advocates criticize the "menthol" branding, because they see it as a way to disguise the mint flavor in more adult terms. (Doing away with mint but keeping menthol could present a loophole for Juul.)

"It’s not surprising to me that mint is a popular Juul flavor among youth," Dr. Grace Kong, a Yale University researcher who studies youth tobacco use, told Mashable. "Menthol is a popular tobacco flavor among youth and still the only legally sold cigarette flavor product in the USA."

A potentially inflated difference between mint and menthol seems to be the case on Juul's website. Juul describes its mint pod as "crisp peppermint flavor with a soothing aftertaste," while menthol gets the wholly un-descriptive "Traditional menthol flavor with a brisk finish." In fact, menthol is derived from peppermint and mint oils, and Oxford dictionary defines it as having a "minty taste and odour." Sounds pretty similar to mint.

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That criticism is all the more urgent for these advocates because regulators, under Trump's orders, are reported to be considering banning fruity flavor pods, but allowing the continued sale of menthol.

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Past research has shown that flavored pods makes kids and teens more enticed to try vaping. However, it's just one of a host of factors (like supposedly looking cool), that have made Juul the favored vaping vice of the Youth. In the public health battle against teen vaping, getting rid of flavor pods — whether that includes mint or not — will likely only go so far.

UPDATE: Nov. 5, 2019, 1:58 p.m. EST

This article was updated to include comments from Dr. Grace Kong.