Juul is conducting several studies to prepare for the application that alongside other e-cigarettes manufacturers, it will need to file with the FDA by 2022. And inline with findings from other studies on the topic, results from a clinical trial presented last month, indicated that switching entirely to Juul reduced smokers’ exposure to biomarkers, or signals of exposure to cigarette smoking, 99.6 percent as much as abstaining entirely.
Presented at the annual conference by the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT), the study was conducted by outside lab Celerion. “We’re committed to durable, clinical research that’s published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at major conferences,” said Josh Vose, Juul’s vice president of medical and clinical affairs, in an interview.
The researchers tested 90 adult smokers for nine biomarkers associated with combustible cigarette smoke. They asked participants to abstain from smoking for 12 hours before they measured the baseline after which they divided them into six groups, with one group instructed to abstain altogether, one group assigned to smoke normally and the other four groups assigned to vape different flavors of Juul’s nicotine pods.
Using Juul reduced 99.6% of the biomarkers found in smokers
After five days, the researchers measured the level of biomarkers in the participants’ urine and blood samples and compared them with the baseline. In the abstinence group, the biomarkers were reduced by an aggregate of 85.3%, compared with an 85% reduction in the groups that used Juul. The researchers calculated that this equates to a 99.6 % relative reduction of biomarkers among the Juul group, in comparison to the smoking group.
In other words the findings indicate that using Juul was virtually as effective in reducing one’s health risks as quitting entirely. “What’s important to take away is when we statistically tested these for difference, it was found to be not statistically different,” said Vose, referring to the difference between the group using Juul and the group abstaining from both smoking and vaping.
Spending almost $10 million for TV slots
Only last month, the San Francisco-based manufacturer announced the launch of a new TV campaign, set to commence over the Summer, which will feature testimonials from adults who have successfully used Juul in order to quit smoking.
Juul will initially spend almost $10 million for TV slots airing on national cable channels after 10 p.m. local time. The ads, a series of three different commercials, are aimed at adults 35 years and older, and feature three former smokers between the ages of 37 and 54, who talk about their experience with cigarettes, and how Juul helped them quit.
The campaign, which will no doubt be met with controversy, marks the start of a year in which Juul strives to prove to regulators that its on the side of smoking cessation. Meanwhile FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb remains unimpressed, and the latest deal between Juul and Altria is making him question the companies’ motives even more than before. Last week he accused both companies of reneging on the promises they made to help combat teen vaping.
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