Paid by big tabaco company vaping has helped thousands quit smoking cigarettes, stop spreading misinformation

I enjoyed this podcast and found the information interesting and love getting an inside scoop on how things come to fruition. And based on the information they provided, I really think Adam and James started Juul as an attempt to find a positive solution to address a serious problem. But the ending of episode 6 was super irritating and frustrating due to what it felt like huge aspects of the all the previous episodes’ information were nullified. I’m having a hard time understanding Laura’s perspective and judgment. She states “my mother-in-law would be better off vaping”. How does she know that? And saying if they had marketed it differently, the “rational future of smoking” might look really different. What does that even mean?? We all know, hindsight is 2020. If we could always predict every possible consequence of every invention, and choose not to create it, because humans will always find a way to use something intended for good in a way that is detrimental in someway, we would still be living in the dark ages without fire or a wheel. And, this started in Silicon Valley, “not market it as a cool new gadget”??? But when things go wrong, it’s part of the human condition, especially Americans, to find a clear cut, black and white answer to complex issues, and find someone to blame. It was sad to see Laura fall victim to that simplification.

1.) I used Vapes to quit a 20 year tobacco habit. I’ve been slowly decreasing the dosage of nicotine until it was zero when I quit that too 2.) people liking something that is unhealthy and you disapprove of is not a reason to ban it. 3.) virtually every anti-Vape study is funded by big tobacco, the pharmaceutical industry, and the politicians they have in their pocket.

Listened with my son while traveling for soccer. He made fun of it here and there but he listened and for that I’m thankful.

I believe that I could listen to Laura Beil read a newspaper and I would enjoy it lol! She is hands down one of my favorite voices as a hosts to listen to!! This is an interesting story for sure and as a smoker myself I’m thoroughly enjoying learning the back story here! Very engaging and a 10 as always!!!

I smoked as a teen and quit in my 20s, I wish vaping was around then. Vaping is thousands times safer than cigarettes or any other type of combustible smoking. Research shows teens addicted to vaping and sticking with it would of picked up smoking cigarettes anyway. Harm reduction 101. Popcorn lungs was from the Mixing of vitamin b and THC cartridges has nothing to do with nicotine vaping.

The episodes are only about 40 mins long but half of it is commercials with a long recap in the beginning with 4 mins at the end that’s not content for the show .. I get they want you to subscribe and oh for their content but it just feels like a money maker podcast. This whole series could be a 90 min doc but it’s spread out into many episodes I just find it annoying

Love Laura Beil, I have listened to all of her podcasts. She is superb, and the subject matter is interesting.

The theme and storyline here is jumbled and unclear. Started out thinking that it would be about the story of Juul and the epidemic of nicotine use. Ended with wow this whole podcast was just like if you watched a documentary on cigarette use by the Marlboro man. There is a serious lack of research into how the juul even works, what the cause was of “popcorn lungs,” and nicotine addiction in general. Also, the transition clips of someone smoking a juul and flicking it open were seriously irritating.

Hey Wondery, Am WONDERING why there is no bloody sound on any of the episodes. Just listened to Dr. death and it was fine. Maybe paying you money was a big mistake. I thought if we paid we would get full series, not so with Miracle Man. One more glitch and I’m going to unsubscribe. Get your act together if you want people to pay you.

The topic is interesting enough, but I’m not sure the main point of the show. Is it for or against vaping? The worst thing is Laura Beil and her narration. She has a terrible podcasting voice that is whiny, nasally, and condescending all at once.

I love Laura Beil and this podcast started out great, but then it turned weirdly pro-vaping. It really seemed as though Jule got their hands on this podcast and used it to paint themselves in a more positive light.

The narrator’s voice is irritating/nasally and the style and cadence of her reporting is distracting and difficult to listen to.

Smart students at elite university create a cool looking and ‘socially acceptable’ nicotine delivery device, then squirm when they’re caught peddling the harmful addictive drug to teens. Their attempts to control the narrative and claims of ‘unintended consequences’ kind of hard to stomach, like listener is supposed to be empathetic. Hats off to parents who fought this Silicon Valley company and are left with loved ones permanently damaged.

SUPER excited to hear another documentary from Laura Beil. Definitely my favorite host.

I enjoyed the story and how techies think they can make an addictive substance non addictive by using water instead of fire.🤦‍♀️If it’s addictive(tobacco) it’s addictive no matter how you try and get it into your system. Tobacco was NEVER meant to be ingested EVER. The smoker inventor was blind sided by his own want to make this addictive substance non addictive. I also think it is very interesting that everyone reporting says kids shouldn’t have this. NO ONE should have it. Ingested tobacco kills.🤷‍♀️

This reminds me of the D.A.R.E campaign from when I was a kid, ridiculously out of touch. I liked the history of the company, could have done without the emotional indictment of teenagers … being teenagers.

I loved the reporting and storytelling. Interesting characters. I do wish they had explained a little more about what the effects of vaping are, like why that one kid had problems with his lungs and had to rush to the ER. I didn’t completely understand that. But overall a very interesting and thoughtful take on the story!

What is up with creepy commercials for Best Fiends game during this podcast about addiction. . . It’s super weird to suddenly hear a deep voice telling you to download a game ‘that you won’t be able to quit. . . But maybe you don’t have to. . .’, followed by a commercial for online psychotherapy?! This is in between segments basically arguing that Juul used manipulative advertising that reeled in teens and got them addicted? I’m not taking a stand either way about prevalence or impact of gaming addiction. The commercials just make this podcast seem ridiculous because they are so over-the-top hyping getting addicted to a game, then immediately suggesting therapy! Get a grip y’all.

The hosts naïveté when it comes to understanding the long history of cigarette marketing and advertising is astounding. Her belief that “the mission” of the company was always to only attract existing smokers is hard to stomach. The mission of the company was to grow their business and make money for themselves and for their investors . Most people start smoking before they turn 18 and that is how the cigarette industry continues to flourish. The idea that Juul becoming cool with the high school set would necessarily be an existential threat to the company is not sound. Cigarettes have been and continue to be markers of cool for high school kids (albeit in lesser numbers) to this day and that has not led to their eradication. Juul just came along a little too late in the story to sneak by. If they had wanted to attract current smokers they would have marketed the device through doctors and smoking cessation clinics and things like that. They would not have made it something cool and new and fun and exciting. It should have been as fun and exciting as a nicotine patch sold locked up at the supermarket.

Each episode seems to be about 50% commercials, way above the normal for most podcasts. Rather repetitive as well. Overall ok, but not great.

This was enjoyable enough to listen to, but it really feels like they’re blowing the problem out of proportion and are positioning this thing as something it isn’t. Yes, nicotine usage in teens is a problem (it has been a problem for decades). No, we don’t want them to smoke or vape. No, this isn’t a global crisis. Everybody calm down.

A timely and interesting subject matter. However, it seemed to go the route of so many podcast in that information, which could have been effectively delivered within three or four episodes, was augmented to six episode for marketing reasons.

Wonders never disappoints. They always show all sides of the story. The good the bad and the ugly. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It sounds like the narrator is wearing a mask while narrating. It likely isn’t true, because it would be the most disgusting form of virtue signaling. With that said, something is off with the sound during narration and it’s quite annoying. It could be how the narrator annunciates, but it seems a proper microphone would correct for that. This show definitely could have been condensed into fewer episodes.

This was not the compelling tale that other wondery stories have been (dr death, bad batch, etc.). This felt like it should have been much shorter or had a lot more meat to it. Disappointed.

Very well done- but I’m left a little confused. Is vaping harmful or not? Why did all those teens die? Why did all those people get sick? Were there long lasting consequences besides nicotine addiction? Why would you rather have your MIL vape than smoke- so it is safer? We don’t know the long term effects, I get that. But I left this series just as confused and uneducated about vaping I feel as when I came in to it. Maybe that’s the problem with vaping, there just aren’t a lot of answers yet.

Normally I like Laura Biel’s podcasts, but this should not have been called, “The Vaping Fix”, because it was exclusively about Juul. She did not do her research about Juul being sold in the UK without all that garbage that was in Juul pods in the US ( like what you find in cigarettes). And vaping is overall safer than cigarettes in this country. People lost their jobs and livelihoods because of the “Juul scandal”. But the reality is that tobacco companies see E-cigarettes as a threat and zeroed in on Juul to try to ruin an industry that could potentially put an end to the tobacco industry.

I feel like every episode is just recycling audio clips from previous episodes. This is an interesting subject, I feel like they could have dug a lot deeper.

Just listened to episode 6. So powerful and heart wrenching!

The over-dramatization of nicotine addiction was patently absurd and hard to stomach. This isn’t the Sackler family getting the nation addicted to opiates. Give me a break.

Sounds like a bunch of parents looking to shift their own failures to a company with decent intentions. Definitely better when kids were sneaking Marlboro reds out of their dads jacket before going to a party where they get drunk and stoned.

Could have cut it in half. Otherwise, a very well researched and reported podcast series.

Good for kids, teens and parents to listen. We don’t want too much content because that probably means more people have been harmed. Twenty four hundred have already filed lawsuits for injury. That’s enough.

I listened to the entire series waiting for an explanation of what it is about Juul and/or vaping that is any worse or different than teen smoking such that it merits the outrage of Congress, parents, the FDA, etc. And what ever happened to the guy who was rushed to the hospital in the beginning?

Takes away personal accountability for the parents and teenagers in terms of blame. I grew up during the rise of Juul, I knew nicotine was not a product you wanted to ever smoke. I never once even tried it. So really yes the blame is partially on the creators, but also on those who were naive enough to believe that it was not dangerous, as well as the parents who were clearly not involved in their children's lives.

A lot of information but coming from a “Karen” viewpoint.

I don’t think for a second that the founders had the “best interest” of people. They have suspicious backgrounds. Umm think about it. Destroy humans from every possible angle.

5 episodes in and so far not so interesting, I mean do we really need the various boring speakers trying to stretch out this thing ?

This podcast feels like an attempt by Juul to control the narrative. I could be wrong, but it feels like damage control. They spend two episodes explaining how the marketing team did not know that advertising to kids through influencers on Instagram would lead to kids using the product.

It’s all about money! They don’t care about anybody including their own.

This helps me know what to expect when i go into high school! I thank you!

I been listening to this podcast and got a direct market email from Jule with coupon in the mail.

But weirdly stretched out so there isn’t really much content in each episode.

I was sure I had already written a review for this, but apparently not. Ross and Carrie are funny, compassionate, and insightful. They are an absolute delight to listen to even when they’re talking about drinking their own pee. I can’t recommend this podcast enough!

Intriguing and complicated story, and Laura Beil does an amazing job untangling the different threads and perspectives. Unbiased and thoroughly researched. Teens are addicted, period. Maxineool district finally had sensors installed in the bathrooms because it was becoming such a problem - especially with kids swapping out nicotine for THC cartridges. This podcast is excellent listening for anyone who can handle the unpleasant truths.

I love true life podcast where you are taken from inception, destruction to resolution! I can really relate to this one! No! I have never vaped. But driving to work during this time, endless Juul advertising on the radio! My co-workers vaping endlessly in the permitted smoke area of our company! I can understand why people flocked to this product!

The first few episodes spend waaaaay to much time on set-up. You hear different people saying the same thing over and over. I don’t need to hear 5 different stories about how cool the working environment is. Or, 15 minutes about a kid trying Juul for the first time. They also threw in weird non-sequitor stories like about the road trip with the box— the addition of that story made was not needed. Where were the editors!?

A woefully misleading and poorly researched podcasts. The researcher/narrator have very little knowledge of how concentrated nicotine salts are vaporized. She often says “burns tobacco” or calls July cartridges “tobacco” carriages. No, miss. That’s literally the entire point of their existence. There’s also misleading conflation between the brief health “crisis” involving black market THC cartridges (when an amount of people too small to be statistically significant died) that have nothing to do with nicotine vapor products. I’m not some kind of Vape Stan. I’ve just done more research than Wondery, apparently.

Four episodes into the Podcast and what an interesting story. Equally enjoyable are reading the one star reviews. Googled what happened later and it seems to get even more hypocritical all around. Looking forward to hearing everything.