Washington state has filed a lawsuit over the Juul marketing strategy, saying the company unlawfully targets underage users to sell more e-cigarettes, among other things.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson submitted the lawsuit against Juul Labs, Inc. in King County Superior Court in Seattle on Wednesday, September 2. In it, he claims the industry giant violated the state’s Consumer Protection Act by courting teenage users with deliberate advertising, mostly through social media, and misleading packaging. Ferguson says Juul also violated state licensing requirements for years.

Federal health officials and governmental agencies have been sounding the alarm about the potential dangers of vaping, and the flood of teenagers taking up the habit – so much so the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has called it an epidemic.

The state’s top prosecutor is requesting a jury trial and is seeking the maximum penalty of $2,000 per violation of the Consumer Protection Act. He estimated the company committed “tens of thousands of violations.” Ferguson also wants the court to put an end to the Juul marketing strategy aimed at young customers.

Juul is the nation’s biggest e-cigarette company, with a reported 70% of the market share. It manufactures and sells vape juice pods and the electronic cigarette devices that turn the juice into vapor. Most, but not all, vape juice pods contain nicotine.

Juul Marketing Strategy Similar to Big Tobacco’s

In the 45-page civil complaint, Ferguson alleges the Juul marketing strategy is strikingly similar to that once employed by Big Tobacco because the company’s executives studied the way Philip Morris and others attracted so many loyal customers.

It was easy to do because so much of Big Tobacco’s strategy was laid out in the thousands of documents gathered by “the state attorneys general, led by then-Washington state Attorney General Chris Gregoire” in the late 1990s, Ferguson’s announcement of the Juul lawsuit said. The documents entered the public record along with other evidence used to sue the tobacco cigarette industry.

“Rather than using Big Tobacco as a source of lessons learned about what not to do,” Ferguson said, “Juul’s founders looked to Big Tobacco as a source of inspiration.”

Beginning with the company’s product launch in 2015, Juul used social media platforms to advertise its e-cigarettes and vape pods. The Twitter, Instagram and Facebook ads featured young models “and youth friendly flavors with attractive names and bright colors … such as ‘Cool Cucumber,’ ‘Mango,’ ‘Crème Brulee,’ and ‘Cool Mint,’” the lawsuit says. All of which, the attorney general says, was designed to attract young customers.

The Juul marketing strategy included hiring brand ambassadors to influence followers on social media, most of whom are young, to use the vape products, the lawsuit claims. And Juul “knew its marketing tactics fueled underage use of its products, yet took little to no action to stop it.” Ferguson cited a 2018 study of JUUL’s Twitter followers that found 80% of them were under 20, some as young as 13. He also said the company’s teenage customers interact with Juul through the social media platforms by posting about using the vape products.

The company regularly monitored its social media feeds and knew of these posts, Ferguson said.

Licensing Violations Alleged

In addition to the attorney general’s accusations about the Juul marketing strategy, he also claims the company violated the state’s licensing laws by selling its products without the necessary permits for nearly two years.

State lawmakers passed a bill in 2016 imposing new requirements, namely licensing, for the distribution and delivery of vapor products in Washington. It was enacted in August 2016. According to the lawsuit, Juul was in contact with regulators from the state Liquor and Cannabis Board, which oversees the vape licensing, but did not submit the necessary paperwork until April 2018.

Every item Juul sold in the state of Washington between August 2016 and April 2018 was illegal, the lawsuit says.

Latest in a String of Vape Marketing Lawsuits

Less than a week before Ferguson filed against Juul, Tempe Union High School District No. 213 filed a lawsuit in federal court in California also claiming JUUL unlawfully marketed its e-cigarettes to kids, causing many of them to purchase and become addicted to the nicotine vape. Tempe’s lawsuit also drew parallels between Juul’s strategy and that of Big Tobacco, saying “(the) incredible progress towards eliminating youth tobacco and nicotine use has now largely been reversed due to e-cigarettes and vaping.”

Arizona’s Attorney General, Mark Brnovich, also sued Juul Labs in January for similar claims.

Juul has denied targeting teenagers in its marketing campaigns and said it has stopped all advertising of its flavored vape pods. In January, company officials told the Associated Press it was focused on “working cooperatively with attorneys general, regulators, public health officials, and other stakeholders to combat underage use and convert adult smokers from combustible cigarettes.”

The Juul Marketing Strategy Lawsuit is State of Washington v. Juul Labs, Inc., et al., in King County Superior Court, Seattle. No case number was available at the time of publishing.

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