E-cigarette maker Juul Labs once ruled the vaping market in the U.S., with its sleek device and hip marketing aimed at young people that made it the leading brand in the sector. Now the company, fighting for its survival in a crowded marketplace, has agreed to pay $438.5 million to settle lawsuits from more than three dozen states alleging that its marketing and sales practices set off a teenage vaping epidemic. The deal, in which Juul did not acknowledge any wrongdoing, allows the company to continue to sell its products with certain restrictions, such as marketing to youth, funding education in schools, and misrepresenting the level of nicotine in its products. Juul has already stopped many of these practices, including selling flavored products that especially appeal to young people, after it came under public pressure to do so as the rate of teen vaping—even among middle school students—surged. The investigation found that previous practices, such as hiring young models and using social media to court teens, succeeded in attracting them to highly addictive e-cigarettes. Going forward, the company says it is focusing on its original mission—transitioning adult tobacco smokers to e-cigarettes. The FDA is also investigating Juul’s products and marketing, as part of its application for permanent sales. Meanwhile, the battle for youth vapers goes on, with new brands such as Vuse and Puff Bar becoming the most popular with young people and market leaders, and Juul is far behind. These companies use a new component—synthetic nicotine—in their products to evade FDA regulations. The FDA has been slow to provide adequate oversight for this industry, thereby allowing more and more young people to take up e-cigarettes and endanger their health as vaping companies continue to target the teen market.
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Rosenthal Center for AddictIon Studies