Now, there are even more reasons to get appy about vapes.
Vaping is definitely all the rage, and chiefly among people who used to smoke cigarettes but have used electronic ones to quit and stay off tobacco for good. But how do you know how much to vape or how often you’re doing it — and should you be limiting the amount you use an e-cigarette? After all, it’s so easy to keep puffing away because the liquid lasts for ages and the battery can keep you going all day and beyond.
We’re now in the era of vapes, instead of unhealthy and socially unacceptable cigarettes, and as many of us use apps to work and play — everything from reading the news to chatting, banking and just about everything else — it’s not surprising that there’s now an app to monitor your vaping.
It’s called the C1, and it comes from the makers of one of the world’s most popular e-cigarettes: Juul. The California-based vape manufacturer, which is worth around $38 billion after Marlboro cigarette-maker Altria invested $12.8 billion in the start-up last year, has released the product and a supporting app in the UK following a successful trial in Canada. For now, it’s only available for Android devices; those with Apple will have to wait and see if an app is released for them.
Keeping Kids Away from Vapes
You can only get your hands on the Juul C1 by undergoing facial recognition and checks to verify your age — this is aimed at preventing those who shouldn’t be vaping, like teens, from buying the device. The C1 can also be locked so that only the owner can use it and not anyone else — like underage people in a household, for instance.
This will be welcome news to anyone worried about teen vaping, and it’s something that’s been targeted at Juul due to an alleged rise in teenagers using vapes in the US. The sleek, USB stick-like look of Juul vaping devices means they’re not immediately recognised as a traditional e-cigarette and, therefore, can be carried around and used discreetly. Having the ability to lock them — as well as making it difficult, if not impossible, for young people to buy Juul gear — will be a relief to many people.
What Does the Juul Vaping App Do?
The Juul C1 device connects to the app via Bluetooth and the software has three main features: Monitor Your Usage so you can keep track of how much you’re vaping; Locate Your Juul, which helps you find your device if you’ve misplaced it; and Secure Your Device, meaning no one else will be able to use it once this feature is activated. Let’s have a closer look at the app and what it does.
·Monitor Your Usage
This feature breaks down your vape usage by day, week and month and provides handy bar charts that let you instantly see your usage. It’s based on what the app calls your “puff count”, and the company suggests that users connect their Juul C1s to the app at least once a week so that data can be downloaded and vapers get a full picture of their vaping activity.
·Secure Your Device
When you’re not around and you don’t have your Juul C1 with you, this allows you to lock it so another person cannot use it. You can manually lock the vape as well as set it to auto-lock — and both mean that the device will not activate and produce vapour. To unlock it, you’ll have to sign back into the app.
·Locate Your Juul
This is another really great feature of the Juul C1. Like anything small, it’s easy to put it down, forget where you left it and then scramble to find the thing. The app does it all for you, as long as you’re in range. Then, you can ping the device and it will make a sound, and hopefully, you’ll be able to hear and locate your Juul; if not, the app will tell you the last time it was paired to the phone, which may be of some help (or not).
What’s the Big Deal about Juul Anyway?
Juul’s runaway popularity lies in its innovation. From the start, the founders, Adam Bowen and James Monsees, wanted to create a vaping device that was totally different from any other e-cigarette on the market. As former smokers themselves, they sought to make something that would be simple and easy to use, small enough that you could carry it around with ease and barely even know you had it — and also stylish and attractive. Their aim was, and still is, to get people off cigarettes and to provide a level of nicotine that would satiate them and help prevent a return to smoking.
“We believe that adult smokers interested in switching from cigarettes should be offered high-quality alternatives that satisfy them because satisfaction is a key component to supporting their switch to vapour,” the company says.
The brand is also valued among the ex-smoking community for its nicotine salts e-liquid pods, which fit atop the vaping devices. Nicotine salts differ from other types of e-liquid in that they have a higher concentration of the substance but at the same time deliver a smoother vaping experience — eliminating the uncomfortable and harsh “throat hit” that vapers sometimes experience with other e-liquids. Juul also uses what it calls “smart-temperature regulation” in its vape devices so that the e-liquid is heated in the most optimal way and people can better enjoy vaping.
And, above all, they want the vaping experience to be one that’s as simple as smoking — just pick it up and go. They don’t want people fiddling around with settings and switches and dials when they can just start puffing on their Juul and that’s it.
Now, with the added value of an app to monitor your vaping, secure the device when you’re not using it and locate the C1 if it gets lost, Juul is hoping people will have even more reason to love its products.