In the last few months, the Juul vape pen has been under the spotlight, as we have been bombarded with alarming media headlines saying that the sleek e-cigarette which looks like a USB, is apparently addicting a whole new generation to nicotine.
Following this, last month the San Francisco-based company said that it will cease promoting its products online, and instead of advertising its devices, it will promote the devices as cessation tools by using images of former smokers who have switched from smoking to vaping the Juul device.
Launching new pods containing less nicotine
Last week, Juul Labs announced that it will be selling lowered-nicotine pods that should help vapers reduce their nicotine levels. As it stands, a single Juul Pod contains about 5% nicotine. The new reduced-nicotine pods will contain roughly 3%, which amounts to a 40% reduction.
In a statement, company CEO Kevin Burns says, “We hope the availability of different nicotine strengths will continue to allow adult smokers the ability to explore what is best for them.”
Juul boasting 68% of the U.S. e-cigarette market
One thing is certain, there is no slowing down for this e-cig manufacturer, as new plans to expand internationally are underway. So far, outside the US the Juul device is only available in Israel and thanks to shareholders including Tiger Global Management and the mutual fund firm Fidelity Investments, it plans to broaden its horizons further. This will equate to raising $1.2 billion, which will value the company at $15 billion.
According to an article on Bloomberg, as of last month Juul had captured a significant 68% of the U.S. e-cigarette market. “Juul’s success underscores the potential for disruptive technology to undermine U.S. tobacco’s reliable business algorithm,” Morgan Stanley analyst Pamela Kaufman wrote in a note to investors this week.
Read Further: Bloomberg
