An e-cigarette lawsuit claims that a teenager developed a severe nicotine addiction as a result of her e-cigarette use, amidst increasing concerns over the health effects from JUUL and other e-cigarettes.

The e-cigarette lawsuit was filed by Rosanna W. against Juul Labs Inc., Altria Group Inc., and Philip Morris USA Inc. Rosanna says that she is an 18-year old teenager who developed a severe nicotine addiction. Allegedly, her nicotine addiction is the result of the above companies’ efforts to market e-cigarettes towards teenagers and young adults.

Rosanna says that she began using JUUL e-cigarettes when she was 16 years old, saying that everyone at her high school was also using the device. The lawsuit says that she was attracted to JUUL because of its popularity and the JUUL pod flavor selection.

According to Rosanna, her nicotine addiction was so strong because of her use of JUUL that she would immediately use her JUUL when she woke up, and she would experience strong cravings for it throughout the day.

Allegedly, when she first started using JUUL, she was unaware that JUUL contained nicotine. Allegedly, such was the case for many teenagers. Rosanna says that she was also unaware that JUUL had been specifically designed to maximize the addictive properties of nicotine, and was unaware that there are other dangers of using the device, including dangers linked to using the toxic compounds in the JUUL pods.

Rosanna notes that e-cigarettes are fairly new products, explaining that JUUL began marketing its e-cigarettes in 2015. She says that these e-cigarettes are trendy and youth-oriented. According to the e-cigarette nicotine addiction class action lawsuit, this marketing towards youth was intentional and was an attempt to get a new generation of customers to begin using nicotine.

According to Rosanna, JUUL decided to market to teens who had not yet begun to use nicotine, because they had “turned their backs on cigarettes.” Allegedly, this choice to tap into the youth market was JUUL’s attempt to not compete with Big-Tobacco companies for customers who already used nicotine.

To support her claim that JUUL marketed its e-cigarettes to young people, Rosanna makes several points about how the e-cigarettes appeal to young people. Allegedly, they are designed to be “easy to use, easy to share, and easy to hide.” She notes that the e-cigarettes come in numerous flavors that are appealing to teens, including fruit flavors.

Additionally, she says that the e-cigarettes deliver one of the highest doses of any nicotine product on the market, making them incredibly addictive.

Rosanna also argues that JUUL used social media to market its products to teens, using youth-directed hashtags. She says that JUUL “successfully created an image that its use was edgy, cool, fun, and pleasurable, both physically and emotionally.” According to Rosanna, though JUUL sought out a different market than Big Tobacco companies, this marketing mimics that used by traditional cigarette companies.

Rosanne’s lawsuit is not the only lawsuit filed against JUUL over an allegedly resultant nicotine addiction and the health effects from JUUL. Gothamist reports that two New York parents filed one such lawsuit against JUUL, saying that their 15-year-old daughter is addicted to nicotine because of her JUUL use.  

Around the country, lawmakers are discussing the possibility of limiting or banning e-cigarette use because of possible health effects from JUUL and other e-cigarettes. One such place is California, according to Forbes. 

The JUUL E-Cigarette Nicotine Lawsuit is Case No. 7:19-cv-08301, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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