E-cig giant Juul to pay $22.5 million in underage lawsuit

LOS ANGELES — E-cigarette firm Juul has agreed to pay $22.5 million in a US lawsuit that alleged the company deliberately targeted teenagers and lied about how addictive its products are, Washington state's attorney general said Wednesday.

The company, whose wide range of exotic flavored vapes -- including mango and creme brulee -- made it a byword for e-cigarettes in the United States, did not admit any wrongdoing but agreed to rein in its advertising.

In the latest such multi-million-dollar suit it has settled with a US state, Juul Labs agreed to pull commercials that appeal to young people, including on social media. It will also work to ensure stores in the state are not selling its products to anyone underage.

"Juul put profits before people," said Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who brought the suit in 2020.

"The company fueled a staggering rise in vaping among teens. Juul’s conduct reversed decades of progress fighting nicotine addiction.

"Today’s order compels Juul to surrender tens of millions of dollars in profit and clean up its act by implementing a slate of corporate reforms."

A Juul spokesperson told AFP, "this settlement is another step in our ongoing effort to reset our company and resolve issues from the past. We support the Washington State Attorney General’s plan to deploy resources to address underage use, such as future monitoring and enforcement."

This official added: "The terms of the settlement are consistent with our current business practices and past agreements to help combat underage use while offering adult smokers access to our products as they transition away from combustible cigarettes.”

E-cigarettes heat up a cartridge of liquid containing nicotine and other toxins into an aerosol. The user inhales the resulting vapor, mimicking traditional cigarettes.

Proponents of vaping say it is less harmful that traditional tobacco, though the science is not clear. The World Health Organization says using neither is the best course of action.

Opponents say the sweet-tasting flavors are appealing to young people, and the companies peddling them are -- knowingly or otherwise -- getting a whole new generation of people hooked on nicotine.

Washington's suit claimed Juul "flooded social media with colorful ads of young-looking models in fun poses that mimicked many of Big Tobacco’s ad campaigns. 

"At the same time, Juul pushed fruit and dessert flavored products such as mango and crème brulee."

By the end of 2018, Juul had more than 70 percent of the US market for e-cigarettes.

"Much of this was due to its popularity with teens, evidenced by the skyrocketing use of e-cigarettes among teenagers," the attorney general said.

Until 2018, Juul's packaging did not disclose that products contained nicotine, the suit said, despite their having up to five times the level found in similar products.

The settlement announced Wednesday is the latest to involve a lawsuit claiming Juul was marketing its products to children.

Last year, it agreed to pay Arizona $14.5 million and pledged not to target youngsters in the state. Months earlier it said it would pay North Carolina $40 million, but dd not admit liability.

The company is facing similar suits by other states, including New York and California, Bloomberg News reported.

Agence France-Presse 

Vape company Juul warned over claims e-cigarette safer than smoking

WASHINGTON — Federal health authorities on Monday blasted vaping company Juul for illegally pitching its electronic cigarettes as a safer alternative to smoking and ordered the company to stop making unproven claims for its products.

The Food and Drug Administration also upped its scrutiny of a number of key aspects of Juul’s business, telling the company to turn over documents about its marketing, educational programs and nicotine formula.

The FDA action increases the pressure on the nation’s best-selling vaping company, which has been besieged by scrutiny from state and federal officials since a recent surge in underage vaping. Federal law bans sales to those under 18. The FDA has been investigating Juul for months but had not previously taken action against the company.

A Juul spokesman said the company “will fully cooperate” with the FDA.

In a sternly worded warning letter, the agency flagged various claims made by Juul representatives, including that its products are “much safer than cigarettes.” Currently no vaping product has been federally reviewed to be less harmful than traditional tobacco products, and that won’t happen for a while.

In the past year, Juul has tried to position its e-cigarettes as a tool to help adult smokers stop smoking, using the tagline “Make the Switch.” In a separate letter to the company’s CEO, the FDA said it is “concerned” that the advertising campaign suggests “that using Juul products poses less risk or is less harmful than cigarettes.”


“JUUL has ignored the law, and very concerningly, has made some of these statements in school to our nation’s youth,” said FDA acting commissioner Ned Sharpless, in a statement.

The agency’s warning letter highlights an incident recounted by two New York high school students during a congressional hearing in July. The students told House lawmakers that a representative from Juul was invited to address the school as part of an assembly on mental health and addiction issues. During the presentation, the students said the representative told them the company’s product was “totally safe.” The representative also showed students a Juul device and claimed the FDA “was about to come out and say it was 99 percent safer than cigarettes.”

Juul says it discontinued its school programs — which were intended to discourage underage use — last September. Juul and similar small, discrete e-cigarettes have become a scourge in U.S. schools nationwide.

FDA warning letters are not legally binding, but regulators can take companies to court if they don’t comply with their requests. Juul has 15 business days to respond with a plan for fixing the problems.

E-cigarettes have been on the U.S. market for more than a decade, but the FDA didn’t gain the authority to regulate them until 2016. E-cigarette makers have until next May to submit their products to the FDA for health reviews.


Most experts, though, agree the aerosol from e-cigarettes is less harmful than cigarette smoke since it doesn’t contain most of the cancer-causing byproducts of burning tobacco. E-cigarettes generally heat liquid containing nicotine. But there is virtually no research on the long-term effects of vaping.

The recent outbreak of lung illnesses mostly involves people who said they vaped marijuana.

In the letter to Juul CEO Kevin Burns, FDA regulators said they were “troubled” by a number of other points raised at the congressional hearing. The letter cites testimony that Juul’s advertising “saturated social media channels frequented by underage teens,” and “used influencers and discount coupons to attract new customers.”

Last year, Juul closed down its social media sites. And under pressure, it also voluntarily removed its fruit and dessert flavors from retail stores. The FDA has proposed regulations on e-cigarettes that would restrict their sales in most stores, though they have not been finalized.

In a tweet Monday, first lady Melania Trump said she was concerned about the “growing epidemic of e-cigarette use in our children.”

FDA regulators also asked Juul to turn over detailed information about its potent nicotine formula. In the last year, researchers have published several papers analyzing Juul’s use of “nicotine salts,” a formulation which allows users to inhale higher levels of nicotine with reduced throat harshness.

Regulators asked the company to explain why it uses nicotine salts and how this affects potential addiction.

The letter also criticizes the company for apparently turning over more documents to congressional investigators than to the agency “despite previous document requests from FDA.” /jpv

source: technology.inquirer.net

E-cigarettes can increase risk of respiratory problems, reveals new research

New research presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress has revealed how e-cigarettes can put smokers at a higher risk of respiratory problems, especially for those who smoke e-cigs alongside traditional tobacco cigarettes.

The two separate studies were carried out by researchers from Umeå University, Sweden, and the University of Crete, Greece, with the findings presented at the Congress, which is currently taking place in Milan, Italy, (from Sept. 9 to 13).

Dr. Constantine Vardavas (MD, PhD), from the University of Crete presented his research on the content of e-cigarette refills, which analyzed exactly which chemicals were present in e-cigarette liquids, and in what quantities, from the most popular brands on sale in Greece, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Romania, Poland and France.

The study looked at 122 of the most commonly sold e-cigarette liquids in total and included a variety of different flavors and nicotine strengths.

They found that every liquid tested contained at least one substance that is classified as a health risk, according to the United Nations classification system.

According to their classification, some of these substances “may cause allergy or asthma symptoms or breathing difficulties if inhaled,” while others are “able to cause respiratory irritation.”

In another study presented at the congress, Dr. Linnea Hedman from Umeå University, Sweden, revealed that after surveying more than 30,000 people in Sweden about their smoking habits, use of e-cigarettes and respiratory symptoms, the team found that those who use both tobacco and e-cigarettes experience more respiratory problems symptoms, such as a persistent cough, wheezing and coughing up mucus.

Among non-smokers 26 percent experienced at least one respiratory symptoms, compared with 34 percent among those using only e-cigarettes, 46 percent among those only smoking conventional cigarettes, and 56 percent among dual users.

The results showed that e -cigarette use was also more common among people who currently smoke conventional cigarettes (9.8 percent), compared to former smokers (1.1 percent) or non-smokers (0.6 percent).

“The possible health effects of e-cigarettes are far from established and it will take some years before the long-term effects will be revealed,” commented Dr. Hedman. “However, this research adds to the evidence that e-cigarettes cannot yet be marketed as a safe alternative to conventional cigarettes.”

In another much smaller study presented at the Congress, Dr. Magnus Lundbäck from Danderyd University Hospital, Karolinska Institute, in Stockholm, Sweden, revealed that after looking at 15 young and healthy participants, the team also found for the first time that e-cigarettes with nicotine can cause a stiffening of the arteries in humans, an important finding as arterial stiffness is associated with an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes in later life. JB

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

China bans officials from smoking in public

BEIJING— China has banned its officials from smoking in public to set an example to the rest of the country that has the world’s largest number of smokers.

The official Xinhua News Agency said that officials are not allowed to smoke in schools, hospitals, sports venues, on public transport or any other places where smoking is banned, or to smoke or offer cigarettes when performing official duties. They also cannot use public funds to buy cigarettes, and within Communist Party or government offices tobacco products cannot be sold nor adverts displayed.

Xinhua said Sunday the rules were contained in a circular from the Communist Party’s central committee and the State Council, or China’s Cabinet.

There is no nationwide law banning smoking in indoor public places, but the government has tried to ban the practice in the past. In 2011, the Health Ministry issued guidelines banning smoking in venues including hotels and restaurants, but these are not strictly enforced. Experts say huge revenues from the state-owned tobacco monopoly hinder anti-smoking measures.

“Smoking remains a relatively universal phenomenon in public venues. Some officials smoke in public places, which has not only jeopardized the environment and public health, but tarnished the image of party and government offices and leaders and has a negative influence,” the circular read, according to Xinhua.

China has more than 300 million smokers. Smoking, which is linked to an average annual death toll of 1.4 million people in China in recent years, is one of the greatest health threats the country faces, government statistics show. The annual number of cigarettes sold in the country increased by 50 percent to 2.52 trillion in 2012 compared with 10 years earlier, according to the Chinese Association on Tobacco Control, which is overseen by health authorities.

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net