The state of Massachusetts has charged that JUUL e-cigarette ad campaigns deliberately targeted teens, and is seeking penalties and restitution for consumers who suffered health consequences as a result of vape addiction. A lawsuit filed by State Attorney General Maura Healy claims that JUUL Labs engaged in aggressive advertising and sold its products to underage youth, echoing similar litigation against tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds,  the creators of “Joe Camel,” over 20 years ago.

The Allegations

Specifically, the complaint states that from the time the company launched in 2015, JUUL e-cigarette ads were purposely created to lure teenagers by targeting the “cool crowd”. Their ads featured young, attractive people in fun situations and attractive women in seductive poses. These images were posted on websites often visited by teens and even children, including Cartoon Network, Seventeen, and Nickelodeon. JUUL also purchased advertising space on sites that middle and high school students use for academic purposes. Speaking at a news conference on February 12th, A.G. Healy said, “They plastered the Internet…You’re doing your math homework and up pops an ad for JUUL.”

Social media was also a big part of JUUL’s marketing campaign, as they set out to recruit popular celebrities and social media “influencers,” the complaint says.

Another factor in JUUL e-cigarette popularity was the availability of vape pods in dessert, candy and fruit flavors that included mango, crème brûlée, mixed fruit, and cucumber. The federal government recently enacted a prohibition against the sale of most flavored vapes, although a loophole in the law reportedly allows teens to continue obtaining such products from a mysterious company called Puff Bar.

JUUL company representatives have long denied that they ever targeted the teenage demographic — yet their actions have sent mixed messages. For example, in September of 2019, Ars Technica reported that JUUL sent its representatives into public schools to give presentations (where no faculty or staff were present). According to the testimony of a student who attended one such presentation,  the representative kept saying JUUL e-cigarette products were “totally safe,” but then followed those statements with, “But we don’t want you as customers.” Afterward, when the student mentioned that his friend was struggling with nicotine addiction, the representative — who did not realize that the student was referring to vaping, thinking it was cigarettes — advised that the friend switch to JUUL.

This highlights another aspect of vape litigation — nicotine addiction.

JUUL E-Cigarette: a Potent Nicotine Delivery Device

Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known — and a JUUL pod contains as much nicotine as an entire pack of cigarettes. News sources today are full of stories from teens who now say they are “hopelessly addicted” to vaping. One 17-year-old said that within a year of being introduced to JUUL, he was going through two pods a day, even sleeping with his vape device so he could start in as soon as he woke up in the morning.

Speaking to a Boston NPR affiliate, Matthew Meyers of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids said, “[JUUL] figured out how to deliver nicotine more intensely, more rapidly, more deceptively to our young people than any company has ever done in history.”

While cigarette smoking has plateaued among teenagers, e-cigarette use has become an “exploding epidemic,” according to FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that there was an increase of 1.5 million e-cigarette youth users in 2018 compared to 2017.

While the CDC saw an increase in e-cigarette use among high school and middle school students from 2017 to 2018, it found no change in all other tobacco products during the same time period.

Electronic cigarettes are marketed as a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes. While e-cigarettes do not contain tobacco, they do contain a high concentration of nicotine and other potentially harmful chemicals.

In fact, the most common causes of nicotine poisoning are vaping and liquid nicotine, according to Medical News Today.

Some of the companies that have been accused of marketing their vaping products to teens include:

• JUUL
• Vuse
• Blu
• Logic
• MarkTen XL
• Others

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