Opinion
Issue 16
October 3, 2018 Page 11
Cooper’s Queries: Juulin’ and Boolin’ By COOPER ADKINS Staff Writer You might’ve seen people around campus put something that looks like a flash drive in their mouth, or seen people using them in the bathroom; they are e-cigs known as Juuls. Juuls are insanely popular. If you haven’t heard of them, a Juul is an electronic cigarette, with a sleek aesthetic, USB– like design, that uses nicotine salts that exist in leaf–based tobacco for its key ingredient. According to Nielsen, a leading global information and measurement company, Juul had achieved a 46.8 percent market share, exceeding the top market share achieved by Marlboro cigarettes at the peak of its measured success (journalnow.com). Then, in April of this year,
Nielsen reports said Juul had 54 percent of the market share. They are extremely popular, especially with college age people. They are also popular with people under 18, which has gotten Juul in trouble with the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA ordered them to figure out how to stop minors from getting access to Juuls, and the FDA is also considering banning flavored E–cigs. In my opinion, Juuls are more helpful than harmful to society and people. First, they offer an alternative to cigarettes or other tobacco products. Cigarettes and other forms of tobacco will increase your risk of cancer and heart diseases, plus they make you smell. While Juul pods do contain Nicotine, they do not contain other harmful
chemicals found in cigarettes, such as tar. The only downside to it (which is a huge downside) is it is extremely addictive and the only way to get the nicotine “buzz” is by using extremely unhealthy tobacco products or vaping. Juuls come in five flavors: tobacco, creme brûlée, fruit medley, mint and mango (the most popular and my favorite flavor). These flavors, and the lack of the nasty cigarette smell, are also another reason why Juuls are popular. Another reason why they’re so popular is that they are really discreet. They are small, look like a flash drive and can be used almost anywhere because their smoke (which is really just water vapor) has no strong smell and they don’t produce much of it.
Finally, I don’t see why the underage use of Juuls is the most important issue among our youth. I mean, yeah they’re getting addicted to nicotine, but they can be addicted to so many other harmful things such as gambling and drugs. Why do we focus on vapes and not those addictions? Also, why do we not focus on issues that affect society as a whole, especially young people? Are high schoolers using Juuls more important than issues like teen homelessness, STD’s and suicide? One of the contributing factors as to why some people (including me) think the FDA is going after vapes is because they are not taxed like cigarettes, and the tobacco company spends millions upon millions on lobbying. Politicians have no stake in Juul
because vapor products do not recieve excise taxes like tobacco products such as cigarettes (taxfoundation.org). I don’t know if that’s why they are going after e-cigs so hard, but it’s something to think about. The government makes money on big tobacco, but they make no money in the Juul business. In my opinion, Juuls are here to stay. They are easy to get, nowhere near as bad as tobacco products, really popular on social media and around campus, and they offer a nice nicotine buzz that is free of some chemicals such as tar which are found in cigarettes. So next time you see someone sucking on a flash drive, sit back and watch them rip some fat clouds with their Juul. I don’t think they’re going anywhere anytime soon.
The achievement gap in Kentucky’s education By TREY SMALLWOOD Backpage Editor This week, the Commonwealth of Kentucky released its newest set of test score data on the Kentucky Department of Education’s website. The data that was released observed how schools were ranked based on the previous year’s state assessment. While I could write about how ridiculous their new ranking system is, I am going to refrain this time. However, I would like to address that results of these scores show the
achievement gap is a relevant issue in our education system. For those who don’t know, an achievement gap is a disparity in academic performance between groups of students. Some politicians debate whether or not this actually exists in our public schools, but most educators acknowledge its existence. What made me want to write this piece was when I pulled up the results from my home district, Montgomery Co.. Let me share those results with you. Novice is the lowest cate-
gory that a student can score. The percent of white students who scored novice in reading was 22%. The percent of black students who scored novice in reading was 42.9%. While math does not have as servere of a gap, a similar gap is present between white and black students, demonstrating an achievement gap (education. ky.gov). So I thought, maybe my old high school just had a problem. Unfortunately this is not the case. The elementary schools in Montgomery Co. showed similar data. I looked
up Scott Co.’s high school and found almost identical data. I found even bigger gaps in Lexington High Schools, so unfortunately this is not an isolated issue. You may be asking yourself, “how is this?” Don’t these students receive the same education, sit in the same classrooms, and have the same teachers? While the answer to these questions are yes, the achievement gap is still evident. While the reasons for this gap in our education system are not abundantly clear, edu-
cators and the broader society have to recognize that this gap is a problem. Once this gap is recognized, we can began addressing it more directly. The state is doing a little bit of this by declaring that some schools need specific, targeted help. This help may come in giving them programs to help specific groups. Clearly, we do not know the solution as of now. However, if we acknowledge the problem, we may still be able to close the achievement gap and mend our education system.
