Juul no gem: Tish
AG is suing e-cig maker for targeting teens
ALBANY — Attorney General Letitia James is looking to snub out e-cig maker Juul for targeting teens.
James filed a lawsuit Tuesday accusing the popular vaping company of engaging in deceptive marketing practices, targeting minors and misleading smokers about the nicotine content and safety of its products.
“There can be no doubt that Juul’s aggressive advertising has significantly contributed to the public health crisis that has left youth in New York and across the country addicted to its products,” James said. “By glamorizing vaping, while at the same time downplaying the nicotine found in vaping products, Juul is putting countless New Yorkers at risk. I am prepared to use every legal tool in our arsenal to protect the health and safety of our youth.”
The suit alleges that Juul’s advertising was specifically aimed at enticing teens. Ads featuring images of attractive young models appealed to underage youth, James argues.
Juul also engaged in direct outreach to high school students, including in at least one city school, where a Juul rep falsely told students its products were safer than cigarettes.
A Juul representative met with more than 70 ninthgraders at the school, which is not named in the suit, and repeatedly assured them Juul’s products were “totally safe.”
After an assembly, held under the guise of “youth prevention,” one student approached the Juul representative and asked what to do about a friend addicted to nicotine. The representative responded that Juul’s products are a “safer alternative than smoking cigarettes and it would be better for that kid to use Juul,” the suit claims.
The company also recruited young people to act as “brand ambassadors,” who were then tasked with handing out sample Juul products and Juul-branded giveaways at launch parties.
James also claims the company misled consumers about the nicotine content in its Juulpods by misrepresenting on its website and product packaging that one Juulpod was equivalent to one pack of cigarettes.
“In fact, research shows that the pulmonary absorption of nicotine in e-cigarette products like Juul’s may be four times that of a combustible cigarette,” the suit states. “Further, unlike cigarette smoke, where only a portion of the nicotine adheres to the lungs for absorption, aerosolized nicotine can bind to particles that can be deposited directly into the lungs, where it can be rapidly absorbed into the pulmonary veins, and eventually into the brain.”
A National Youth Tobacco Survey shows about 4.1 million high school students and 1.2 million middle school students across the country use ecigs. In New York, a third of high schoolers admit to vaping, and a majority said they didn’t realize vaping products had nicotine.
Juul represents 70% of the market share for e-cigs and is a dominant player in the industry.
A Juul rep said the San Francisco-based company recently suspended all broadcast, print and digital product ads in the U.S. and is investing in new technology to reduce youth use.
“While we have not yet reviewed the complaint, we remain focused on resetting the vapor category in the U.S. and earning the trust of society by working cooperatively with attorneys general, regulators, public health officials and other stakeholders to combat underage use and convert adult smokers from combustible cigarettes,” a spokesman said.
“Our customer base is the world’s 1 billion adult smokers, and we do not intend to attract underage users.”
State lawmakers, meanwhile, are considering legislation that would either regulate or potentially ban the popular nicotine products entirely amid a wave of illnesses and an alarming rise in the rates of teens puffing on flavored e-cigs.
Several other states, as well as the federal Food and Drug Administration, have considered pulling flavored e-cigarettes from shelves following a rash of vaping-related lung illnesses and deaths across the nation in recent months, including a 17year-old who died in the Bronx.
A ban on the sale of flavored vaping products issued by Gov. Cuomo in September was temporarily halted by a judge last month. Cuomo praised James for taking the vaping battle to the courts.“It is undeniable that the vaping industry is using flavored e-cigarettes to get young people hooked on potentially dangerous and deadly products, and the predatory marketing practices used by these companies have no place in New York,” he said.