E-cig giant stops all ads amid vape health row

AMERICA’S largest e-cigarette maker yesterday ended vaping advertising and dumped its boss.

Juul Labs also pledged not to lobby against a sweeping ban on vaping flavours proposed by the White House earlier this month.

Kevin Burns, its chief executive officer, will be replaced by a senior boss from Altria, the maker of Marlboro cigarettes. Altria paid £10billion for a 35 per cent stake in Juul last year.

The shake-up comes amid a backlash against vaping that has triggered calls for tighter restrictions. On Tuesday the state of Massachusetts proposed banning all vaping products for four months and yesterday the California health board said e-cigarettes should be banned immediately.

Juul and hundreds of smaller rivals are fighting for their survival as they face two public health debacles linked to vaping: a mysterious lung illness and rising use of e-cigarettes among teenagers.

Public health officials are investigating hundreds of cases of the breathing ailment but have not yet identified a suspect product or ingredient.

At the same time, underage vaping has reached epidemic levels, according to government health officials, with more than a quarter of teenage students trying it.

Juul made a killing with a combination of high-nicotine pods, dessert and fruit flavours and viral marketing. The San Francisco company now controls roughly 70 per cent of the US e-cigarette market.

Since 2018 it has tried to head off a crackdown with a series of voluntary steps, stripping shops of several flavours and shutting down its social media presence.

But parents, politicians and public health campaigners have continued to push for a broader purge. Juul faces multiple investigations from Congress, federal agencies and state law chiefs.

Altria announced that Kevin Crosthwaite will take charge at the firm. He said ‘unacceptable levels of youth usage were eroding public confidence in our industry’.

He added: ‘We must strive to work with regulators, policymakers and other stakeholders, and earn the trust of the societies in which we operate. That includes inviting an open dialogue, listening to others and being responsive to their concerns.’

Earlier this week it emerged that more Britons are vaping than ever. The figure of 3.6million users – a rise of 12.5 per cent in a year – means around 7 per cent of the UK vapes, compared with 15 per cent who smoke. More than half are ex-smokers, a poll for antismoking charity Ash discovered.

However, research from an Australian study, also published this week, suggested fumes from ecigarettes are toxic and can kill certain cells in airways.

‘Earn the trust of society’