A former JUUL Labs executive is suing the company claiming it knew about the negative health effects of JUUL pods and fired him for raising concerns.

In his Oct. 29 JUUL lawsuit, former JUUL Senior Vice President of Global Finance Siddharth B. claims that he tried to warn former CEO Kevin Burns and other executives about tainted pods that were causing adverse health effects of JUUL pods, according to CBS News.

According to Siddarth, he attempted to bring the issue to Burns’ attention in March 2019. The alleged contamination reportedly affected a batch of mint-flavored JUUL pods that had already been shipped.

Instead of recalling the contaminated JUUL pods, Burns and other executives allegedly decided not to fix the problem. Initiating a recall would have reportedly meant risking billions of dollars in lost sales, according to reports.

Siddarth claims that the decision was reminiscent of an expletive-laced comment a week earlier by Burns, who allegedly said: “Half of our customers are drunk and vaping like mo-fo’s, who the (expeltive) is going to notice the quality of our pods.”

Siddarth maintains that because he attempted to bring attention to the health effects of JUUL pods, he was fired in a “cold and calculated” in a move intended to “silence him and set an example for other employees.” The lawsuit states that being fired by the company damaged the executive’s reputation and career.

JUUL has denied the claims and calls the allegations “baseless.”

“He was terminated in March 2019 because he failed to demonstrate the leadership qualities needed in his role,” a JUUL spokesperson said in a statement reported by the New York Times. “The allegations concerning safety issues with Juul products are equally meritless, and we already investigated the underlying manufacturing issue and determined the product met all applicable specifications. The company will vigorously defend this lawsuit.”

Health Effects of JUUL Pods

JUUL products have been blasted in the media, tarnishing the brand’s image. Although there are none of the health effects of JUUL pods have been confirmed by scientific studies or analyses, the products have been criticized for having extreme amounts of nicotine.

Another former JUUL employee has also claimed that the company knew that its products were designed to hook users quickly. A former JUUL scientist told Reuters that the company went through numerous prototypes trying to develop products with a “stronger addictive power.” The company reportedly achieved this by implementing potent nicotine formulations and enticing tastes to cover the harshness of the fluid.

These two qualities purportedly made JUUL products highly popular with teenagers and other young consumers. As a result, young people have reportedly become addicted to nicotine despite never having smoked a traditional cigarette.

“The person who is becoming addicted to cigarettes has to be more determined; they almost have to want to become a smoker,” said Dr. Jonathan Winickoff, a pediatrician at MassGeneral Hospital for Children. “With Juul, you get trapped much more easily. There’s nothing about it that’s telling your body that it’s harmful.”

Although the brand has since transitioned to targeting its marketing focus on current smokers, JUUL Labs allegedly targeted young people with its initial advertisements. Using bright colors and young, attractive models blanketing social media channels reportedly gave the e-cigarettes a “cool” image that made JUULing a cultural phenomenon.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented 
for informational purposes only.