The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Tong a leader in states’ Juul investigation
NEW HAVEN — To counter a “crisis of youth vaping” across the country, Attorney General William Tong said Connecticut is among the leaders of an investigation by 39 states into Juul laboratories, with a focus potentially on unfair and deceptive marketing practices.
It is an expansion of an investigation by Connecticut in 2019 which focused on marketing practices and Juul’s claims that it is “a smoking cessation tool,” as well as programs that targeted veterans, as well as employers and workplaces.
Tong said they are “digging in” on what Juul is saying about its product, especially that it is a smoking cessation tool that helps people stop smoking.
“Now they say they are not a smoking cessation
tool, they are a switching tool. I think that is interesting language,” the attorney general said.
“If you use your common sense and watch their videos and look at their social media posts and what they are doing marketing across media and across platforms, that clearly what they are trying to tell you is that it is an alternative product that can help you stop smoking,” Tong said.
Tong, made the national announcement from Hillhouse
High School, where a group of students offered some advice on how to reach young people
Tong said there has been a 20 percent to 30 percent spike in vaping in Connecticut in a short time.
The attorney general was asked if he had seen internal emails or documents that led him to believe that they were targeting kids. “Yes we are collecting documents. I’m not ready yet to disclose what we found in specific terms, but what we have seen has us very concerned.”
He said they want to know what role the companies
have played in the epidemic, especially Juul given that it dominates 80 percent to 90 percent of the market.
“They pretty much are the whole ballgame,” Tong said.
In Connecticut’s 2019 probe, it uncovered “a lot more information and evidence” which compelled him to expand the probe with other states. “We are stronger together always,” Tong said.
Michelle Seagull, who heads the state office of Consumer Protection said “truth in advertising, truth in marketing” is
necessary across the board, but particularly products that are used by young people.
Tong said what they found is that vaping is being taken up by middle school children, in addition to high school teens.
“It is a very serious problem across the country,” the attorney general said. He said as the investigation continues he expects more civil investigative demands or subpoenas will be issued.
He said the best thing that Juul can do is “respond fully, forthrightly and cooperate with us.”