Alhambra Unified (AUSD) has joined the notorious nationwide class action lawsuit against Juul Labs Inc. last month. For AUSD the suit aims to contribute to districtwide ongoing efforts to dissuade tobacco use, said Pat Mahony, assistant superintendent of Student Support Services.
“Prior to the pandemic there was an epidemic, and the epidemic was vape use among our adolescents,” said Mahony. “It was something that the schools were dealing with on an ongoing basis, and so we had many concerns. And the problem has escalated as this vape product usage has become more pervasive in our school community and in our local community.”
In line with the accusations by other school districts, the lawsuit accuses Juul of strategizing “to create a nicotine product that would maximize profits through addiction,” that Juul “enticed newcomers to nicotine with kid-friendly flavors without ensuring the flavoring additives were safe for inhalation,” and that it “developed and maintained a marketing scheme to mislead users into believing that Juul products contained less nicotine than they actually do and were healthy and safe.”
The FDA blamed Juul for teen vaping “epidemic”
At a July hearing of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, Janet Woodcock the acting FDA Commissioner at the time, was asked if Juul was “the e-cigarette company most responsible for creating this epidemic.” She answered that it does appear to be the case.
The subcommittee’s chairman, Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, opened the meeting by urging the FDA to deny approval for all vaping companies in the ongoing PMTA reviews. Juul is one of hundreds of manufacturers which has submitted their documents seeking approval.
Read Further: Pasadena Star-News
