This week, an adaptation of my 2021 book, Big Vape: The Incendiary Rise of Juul, was released as a Netflix series called Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul. Like my book, the series charts the rollercoaster ride of Juul Labs, the vaping company that made arguably the best e-cigarette the world had ever seen—and then crashed and burned when its device helped create a crisis of teen nicotine addiction.
Adapting the book into a series, which was directed by filmmaker R.J. Cutler, was challenging in ways I hadn’t expected. Many of the people I interviewed for my book were uncomfortable appearing on screen, and other former Juul employees were scared or unable to talk due to non-disclosure agreements and numerous lawsuits against the company. (Being part of the series was also physically taxing—my on-camera interview lasted six hours, after which I could barely talk for the rest of the day.)
But seeing the story come to life through interviews, archival footage, and social media posts also drove home just how complex it is. As a former employee says in the series, Juul’s history isn’t black or white; it’s gray. The company made mistake after mistake and deserves much of its criticism, but it has also helped some adult smokers—and had the potential to help even more, had its leaders made different choices.
"A lot of people are craving connection. There is something deeply relieving and satisfying about talking to another person who understands you. That’s true not just in therapy, but in life."
—David Tolin, adjunct professor of Psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine
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Today's newsletter was written by Jamie Ducharme, and edited by Elijah Wolfson.
