CINCINNATI -- A Juul looks more like a thumb drive than the United States' hottest-selling e-cigarette, which is probably why most parents wouldn't think too much of seeing one among their child's belongings.
Its creators refer to the sleek little vaping device as one designed "to eliminate combustible cigarettes," but it delivers the same amount of nicotine per flavored, Keurig-style pod as a pack of its rolled-paper cousins.
"I got a pretty good head rush on two hits, and I've been vaping for four years," Christopher Favorite, who owns Favorite Vapors on Ludlow Avenue, said.
The Juul is so popular it quickly sells out in most physical retailers; some have given up restocking the devices altogether and begun restocking only the pods, according to a Tech Insider article.
Although using a Juul looks and smells better than smoking analog cigarettes, it's no less dangerous an activity to welcome all that nicotine into the body.
And although Juul's website has some age protections meant to keep people under 21 from making purchases online, they're easy for a teenager with access to a parent's ID and credit card information to bypass.