E-cigarette maker Juul helped get a younger generation of Americans hooked on vaping with its sleek products and youth-targeted marketing—but now it’s paying a price for its success. Juul has announced it is cutting a third of its workforce as the company, under attack by public health advocates and government agencies, grapples with falling market share and regulatory crackdowns. Once the buzz of Wall Street and Silicon Valley, Juul came under attack as vaping surged among high school students, and an outbreak of vaping-related illnesses and deaths alarmed parents and health officials. Partial bans were issued on flavored e-cigarettes aimed at young people and many states implemented stricter rules on sales of vaping products, causing Juul’s revenues to plummet.
Now the FDA will review all vaping products to see if they meet health standards—a much-needed step to fight the teen vaping epidemic. And there’s more bad news for the vaping industry: a new study in the Journal of the American Heart Association found e-cigarettes may be as dangerous for your heart as smoking conventional cigarettes. Research showed that those who use cigarettes or e-cigarettes or both had stiffer arteries than those who do not smoke or vape. Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of death for smokers, and e-cigarette manufacturers have suggested that switching to their product might prove less harmful to health—a claim that this study calls into question.