In the past months, Juul has been the recipient of multiple lawsuits. This latest one, a 40-page complaint filed in San Diego Superior Court on behalf of the San Diego Unified School District, accuses Juul of disrupting “the learning environment,” and causing an increase in student absences due to vaping-related injuries “by diverting funding away from learning toward educational campaigns, prevention, and treatment.”
The school district, is seeking monetary compensation for costs incurred due to teen vaping. “Our district is in the business of educating students in a healthy and safe environment,” said San Diego Unified Superintendent Cindy Marten.”This lawsuit supports district goals by holding Juul accountable for its harmful marketing practices and unsafe products.”
Other lawsuits
Last December, Juul received another suit from the state of Illinois. Filed by the Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, the lawsuit alleged that Juul Labs Inc. has combined the attractiveness of its sleek design and fruity flavours, to mask a strong nicotine solution. “Juul had a central role in undoing years of work by government agencies and anti-tobacco activists in order to addict a whole new generation to nicotine.”
Additionally, stated Raoul in the suit, the e-cig manufacturer only changed its strategy and started marketing its product, after facing serious scrutiny for its teen-friendly marketing tactics. “Juul’s product is not approved by the FDA as a smoking cessation device and has not put forth credible evidence to support such approval,” continued the lawsuit. “However, Juul continues to market its product as if it did so.”
Similarly in November, the state of California sued San Francisco-based Juul, alleging that the e-cig manufacturer has engaged in a “systematic” and “wildly successful” campaign, to hook minors on its products.
Juul struggles to regain credibility following deal with Altria
The California lawsuit was filed in the federal district court for the middle district of Florida. In what is certainly one of the consequences of Juul striking a deal with a tobacco company, one of the first complaints of this suit was that since Altria bought a 35% stake in Juul, Juul’s infrastructure has been corrupted and is using the same fraudulent marketing measures that the tobacco company itself has used.
Meanwhile, in response to recent data confirming that the Juul device remains a firm favourite amongst teens, the manufacturer had once again stated that they intend to do their best to limit teen access to their products. “These results are unacceptable and that is why we must reset the vapor category in the U.S. and earn the trust of society by working cooperatively with regulators, attorneys general, public health officials and other stakeholders to combat underage use,” said K.C. Crosthwaite, Juul’s recently appointed CEO.
Read Further: npr
