---
title: "Juul Wants to Age-Lock Its Vapes"
description: "Juul is pitching a Bluetooth-enabled vape that won't let you puff until you've connected it to an app and uploaded a government-issued ID."
date: "2020-02-26"
modified: "2020-02-26"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/juul-wants-to-age-lock-its-vapes"
categories:
  - "Health & Medicine"
  - "Prosthetics and Devices"
tags:
  - "health"
  - "juul"
  - "nicotine"
  - "vaping"
---

# Juul Wants to Age-Lock Its Vapes

![Juul is pitching a Bluetooth-enabled vape that won't let you puff until you've connected it to an app and uploaded a government-issued ID.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/juul-age-lock-vapes.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Cloud Nein

The year is 2023. You go to take a drag of your Juul — but your phone's Bluetooth won't connect to the vape, meaning it won't dispense that sweet, sweet nicotine fix.

It sounds too silly to be real, but *The Wall Street Journal* [is reporting this week](<https://www.wsj.com/articles/juul-pitches-locked-e-cigarette-in-bid-to-stay-on-u-s-market-11582576496>) that Juul's going to pitch the FDA on just such a system: a Bluetooth-enabled vape that won't let you puff until you've connected it to an app and uploaded a government-issued ID.

## Buzz Lockdown

For a glimpse of what the system might look like in practice, the *Journal* points out, you need look no further than Canada and the United Kingdom, where Juul has already rolled out a similar system of Bluetooth-enabled vapes that won't fire up until you've uploaded an official ID.

The proposed system — almost certainly a reaction to Juul's [wild popularity](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/lawsuit-juul-targeted-kids-nickelodeon-cartoon-network-ads>) among teens — seems like an elaborate technical scheme that wily kids could easily bypass, either by using a competing brand or by uploading an ID from an older friend.

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)