In 2019, Nicotine addiction among teenagers has grow to a national emergency. The problem parents face is how to get their kids free of the addiction. Not only are nicotine vapor devices easy to acquire over the Internet, they are prevalent in the schools. Combating this crisis requires involvement by parents, schools, the medical community, law enforcement and law makers.  Most importantly, the addicted child must understand the dangers of use and become committed to quitting.

For the teenager that is committed to quitting, the only two options are quitting "cold turkey" or breaking the law with help from their parents.  For many, if not most, teenagers, "cold turkey" is a non-starter.  Nicotine patches, pills and gum may work for some.  But for most, the answer involves the device that got them addicted in the first place - the vapor pen.

The problem, however, is measuring use and holding the addicted teenager accountable.  The JUUL Pod is equivalent to a package of cigarettes and the volume of liquid is too small to estimate incremental use by eye.  Finer granularity of measurement is required.

Conceived and developed by a parent with an addicted teenager, this monitoring device is designed to help the committed teenager ween off nicotine vaping with the help from a supportive parent. This device helps by monitoring the length and frequency of vape inhalations through the day. It does not enforce reduction but gives the teenager and the parent the necessary insights to manage a controlled reduction of use.

In short, the monitor is a tamper-resistant attachment to the widely available JUUL device. The monitor tracks use by reading the LED indicator on the JUUL and records the time and length of each inhalation. This information is relayed to the parent smartphone where it is presented to the parent for review and consideration with the teenager. 

No! But I understand your reaction.

As a parent discovering my child was addicted, I went through the stages of anger then sorrow then anger then frustration.  JUUL was a natural target for many of my emotions. However, my child was not using the JUUL because it is more difficult to get and more expensive to use as a teenager.  In fact, my child was using devices and vapor fluids ordered over the Internet with sketchy origins and possible contaminants.

When I decided to help my child ween from nicotine and when patches, lozenges, and gum failed, I needed a trustworthy source of nicotine vapor.  With a ~70% market share, JUUL seemed like the rational choice. The problem I faced was monitoring my child's use.

I remain irritated that JUUL Labs, Inc. could introduce a device designed to assist with smoking cessation that does not measure and track use over time.  Stephen Kaufer, CEO of TripAdvisor, established a mantra that is well known in technology. If you want to improve, you need to measure. This concept is the basis of analytics, data science and machine learning.

I have come to accept that, as a for-profit company, cessation was not truly part of the JUUL Labs, Inc, mission. Apparently, Marlboro felt the same way when they recently invested $13.8 Billion for a 35% stake. It is unlikely that JUUL Labs, Inc. will help anyone reduce use anytime soon. Hence the formation of this effort.

Of course the primary benefit is to the addicted teenager because this device will help them measure their use and reduce over time.

A secondary benefit is to the parent that wants to help the addicted teenager but has no options.  This is the first option of its kind.

The third benefit is to the medical community who wants to help but does not have reliable data on teenage usage or on effective reduction strategies.  Each parent is encouraged to opt-in and anonymously share their child's usage and reduction data along with other useful data such as age, weight, and gender so that (1) Machine Learning algorithms can learn, improve and recommend use reduction strategies and timelines and (2) doctors can perform statistical research.  All this with the goal of treatment and prevention.

All nicotine products are subject to state and federal laws, illegal to use by minors and illegal to provide to minors.  In most states, the legal age is 18 but in some it is 21.  This means that parents who provide their child with any nicotine in any form are breaking the law as well as the child breaking the law in use.  This monitoring device does not indemnify the parent or the child.  But it is my sincere hope that law enforcement officials view the under age user of this device and the parent provider of this device with leniency as they are acting in good faith toward a nicotine-free future.

Accommodations will be build into the device to help law enforcement officials verify proper use from false use. For example, the device will be tamper-resistant and will provide audio and/or visual confirmation, easily confirmed by law enforcement, that it is being used within guidelines established by the parent.

Because it is illegal and because it is a threat to other students, nicotine products are banned from school. A student that is caught vaping on school property is subject to disciplinary action. It is my sincere hope that schools will view the user of this device differently and will provide leniency on the basis that the student is acting in good faith toward a nicotine-free future.

The same accommodations to help law enforcement officials verify proper use from false use are available to help school officials as well.