Juul halts store sales of some flavored e-cigarettes

NEW YORK — The nation’s leading e-cigarette maker is halting store sales of some flavors to deter use by kids.

The move by Juul Labs Inc. comes ahead of an expected U.S. government crackdown on underage sales of flavored e-cigarettes.

Juul said it stopped filling store orders Tuesday for mango, fruit, creme and cucumber pods and will resume sales only to retailers that scan IDs and take other steps to verify a buyer is at least 21. It said it will continue to sell menthol and mint at stores, and sell all flavors through its website.

The company also said it would close its Facebook and Instagram social media accounts, and pledged other steps to make it clear that it doesn’t want kids using its e-cigarettes.

Its products are meant to help adult smokers quit regular cigarettes, CEO Kevin Burns said in a statement.

“We don’t want anyone who doesn’t smoke, or already use nicotine, to use Juul products,” Burns said. “We certainly don’t want youth using the product. It is bad for public health and it is bad for our mission.”

E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that turn liquid often containing nicotine into an inhalable vapor. They’re generally considered a less dangerous alternative to regular cigarettes, but health officials have warned nicotine is harmful to developing brains.

Some vaping products come in flavors with names like bubble gum and cotton candy, leading to criticism that the industry is marketing e-cigarettes to children.

Juul e-cigarettes first went on sale in 2015. The devices look like computer flash drives, can be recharged in computer USB ports and have prefilled cartridges containing nicotine.

Last year, Juul became the top-selling U.S. brand of e-cigarette. That’s due at least partly to aggressive marketing through Instagram and other social media that many kids see, some researchers say. University of Pittsburgh researchers estimate that a quarter of the followers of Juul’s Twitter account are underage.

The U.S. Food and Drug Ad- ministration bans sales of e-cigarettes and tobacco products to those under 18. Some states restrict sales to 21 and older.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb responded to Juul’s announcement on Twitter.

“We’re deeply concerned about the epidemic of youth use of e-cigs,” he said. “Voluntary action is no substitute for regulatory steps #FDA will soon take. But we want to recognize actions by JUUL today and urge all manufacturers to immediately implement steps to start reversing these trends.”