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 

DC government sues e-cigarette maker Juul over teen use

WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia is joining several states in suing the nation’s largest e-cigarette maker Juul Labs, saying the company’s online advertisements and promotions illegally targeted minors.

Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl Racine announced the lawsuit Tuesday, alleging that Juul’s viral marketing contributed to the surge in underage vaping by teens in the district and across the United States.


The lawsuit also says that Juul misled consumers about the potent nicotine levels contained in its flavored pods.

The move follows similar lawsuits filed last week by California and New York. North Carolina became the first state to sue the San Francisco startup in May.

A Juul spokesman said Tuesday the company’s products are intended for adults and that it is committed to combating underage vaping.

Under intense legal pressure, Juul recently suspended its U.S. advertising and halted sales of all but two of its flavors, menthol and tobacco. Additionally, the company closed its social media accounts, tightened age verification for online sales and replaced its chief executive officer.

Juul, which launched in 2015, now controls roughly two-thirds of the U.S. retail market for e-cigarettes. The company also faces separate investigations by Congress, the Food and Drug Administration and other federal regulators.

Juul rocketed to the top of the vaping market based on the popularity of its high-nicotine pods, fruit and dessert flavors and early online marketing, which featured youthful, attractive models.

Racine said Tuesday the company’s practices “unfairly and unconscionably dragged a new generation into nicotine addiction.”

The lawsuit, filed in D.C. Superior Court, also alleges that Juul previously:

— made unsupported claims that its e-cigarettes are a safer alternative to traditional smoking,


— failed to adequately verify customers’ ages before selling e-cigarettes through its website, and

— failed to implement a “secret shopping” program and other steps touted by the company to deter underage use.

The district also said it sent subpoenas to eight other vaping companies seeking information about their business and marketing practices.

Underage vaping has reached what health officials call epidemic levels. In the latest government survey, 1 in 4 high school students reported using e-cigarettes in the previous month, despite federal law banning sales to those under 18.

E-cigarettes, which have been available in the U.S. since about 2007, have grown into a multi-billion-dollar industry with little government regulation. The battery-powered devices typically heat a solution that contains nicotine, the drug that makes cigarettes and e-cigarettes addictive.

Most experts say vaping is likely less harmful than traditional smoking, which produce thousands of toxic chemicals. But there is little research on the long-term health effects of vaping. RGA

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

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

Study finds most teens vaping fruity flavors, not nicotine

NEW YORK — Health officials warn that electronic cigarettes and other vaping devices are poisoning kids with nicotine. But new research suggests that most teens aren’t vaping nicotine at all but using sweet and fruity flavors like strawberry, chocolate cake and bubble gum.

Only a fraction of young vapers were inhaling nicotine, a nationwide survey showed. The majority — two-thirds — said they vaped “just flavoring.”

Nicotine is considered harmful to the developing teenage brain. But the finding raises big questions about how US health officials are portraying the threat of e-cigarettes to youths, said Richard Miech, the study’s lead author at the University of Michigan.

Federal estimates of how many youths are using any nicotine-containing tobacco products — including traditional cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes — may be inflated because of mistaken assumptions about how much vaping involves nicotine, he said. That figure is around 25 percent.

Health officials and an advocacy group questioned the study’s findings.

E-cigarettes began to appear in the United States roughly 10 years ago. At first, they were battery-powered devices resembling cigarettes that heated liquid nicotine into a vapor. They were promoted to smokers as a less dangerous alternative since they don’t contain all the chemicals and tars of burning tobacco.

But the market has evolved, and a lot of vaping these days is done with devices that can be loaded with flavored “e-juice” that comes in both nicotine and nicotine-free versions.

“Strawberry. Watermelon. Passion fruit. There’s a churros — you know, like cinnamon toast?” said Hosam Essa, manager of Brooklyn Vape in New York, rattling off some of the most popular flavors on his shop’s shelves.

Kids love the flavors and blowing vapor into rings and other shapes, said Jennifer Alexander, an RTI International researcher who has interviewed about 50 teen vapers.

Michigan’s national survey last year included 3,800 students who had vaped at some point. It was the first time the respected annual survey asked what was in the vapor — specifically, they were asked what they inhaled the last time they vaped. Results were published online Thursday by the journal Tobacco Control.

Miech said he was curious how many kids vaped marijuana. But it was the nicotine findings that surprised him.

Only about 13 to 20 percent said they last vaped nicotine, with the highest percentages in older teens; about 7 percent used marijuana and roughly 10 percent didn’t know.

The boom in youth vaping has coincided with steady declines in teen cigarette smoking. Vaping is now more common than smoking.

The federal government, as well as most states, restricts sales of electronic cigarettes or vaping products to minors. But kids still get them, sometimes through online purchases or other people. Essa said parents bring their kids into his shop because they’d rather the kids vape than smoke.

Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have lamented the growing popularity of vaping products, often focusing on nicotine dangers for teens.

Asked about the new study, CDC officials sent a statement questioning whether many teens know the exact content of what they’re vaping. They cited a small study suggesting mislabeling of e-juice containers was not uncommon. Further research is needed, the statement said.

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids issued a statement making similar points. The organization’s president, Matthew L. Myers, was also critical of how the flavor question was posed.

Miech said he agrees that youth vaping is a problem. But he said the focus should be on other research that suggests that teens who vape are more likely to later smoke conventional cigarettes and use other tobacco products.

source: technology.inquirer.net

High school gave ‘Dora the Explorer’ voice actress a pass over vaping

NEW YORK — The teenage actress who voices Nickelodeon’s spunky “Dora the Explorer” character was given special treatment after she was caught vaping in a private high school bathroom, according to a lawsuit filed Monday (Tuesday, Manila time) by the parents of another student.

The parents of a 14-year-old former student at Manhattan’s Avenues: The World School, identified as M.S. in a state Supreme Court civil case, say their child was forced out of the private school while 15-year-old actress Fatima Ptacek was only suspended for three days after they were caught using a vapor pen to inhale caramel-flavored water last December.

The lawsuit refers to Ptacek by her initials but identifies her as being the voice of Dora and an actress in an Oscar-winning movie.

“The fact that F.P. is a known actress for being the voice of Dora Explorer may have played a role in why she was ultimately not expelled even after the school threatened as much, and M.S. was expelled instead as a scapegoat,” says the lawsuit by the parents, Nadia Leonelli and Fredrik Sundwall.

Ptacek’s publicist did not return a request for comment on Monday. Neither did a spokesman for Nickelodeon.

School spokesman Bruce Bobbin said disciplinary matters are “private and confidential,” and he declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Leonelli and Sundwall want their daughter reinstated in the school and are seeking $40,000 in damages to cover tuition payments and legal fees, according to their court filing. Their daughter had never been in trouble before and succumbed to peer pressure because she wanted to appear “cool” in front of Ptacek, the lawsuit said.

“Dora the Explorer,” which premiered in 2000, features a bilingual Latina main character and her adventures inside an animated world. Ptacek voiced the title role from 2012-2015 and has voicedDora’s character on the spinoff “Dora and Friends: Into the City!” since 2014, according to her website.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net