In the first-ever wrongful death lawsuit against JUUL, a major e-cigarette producer, the mother of an 18-year old son who succumbed to breathing problems last August blames JUUL side effects.

Lisa V., a resident of Land O’ Lakes, Fla. has filed her claim on behalf of herself and the deceased son, Daniel W., in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Oct. 15, 2019.

The complainant has named JUUL Labs Inc. as the primary defendant and indicated up to 30 unidentified parties as secondary in her lawsuit. Lisa seeks to hold all parties responsible for unrestrained marketing of vaping products to youth while downplaying JUUL health effects and failing to warn of the known physical dangers associated with its high nicotine content.

The Plaintiff Tells Her Story

According to an Oct. 21, 2019 article posted by Yahoo.com and the lawsuit itself, Daniel, Lisa’s son, was an exceptional student in grade and high school. He functioned well at this level until allegedly being exposed to JUUL’s advertising campaigns targeting youth and starting to vape.

Lisa alleges that her son’s academic performance and emotional stability were grossly affected by his use of vaping products. He became moody and seemingly unable to attend to details. He dropped out of high school and sat for the GED instead. She says her son continued to use vaping products and denied any JUUL side effects when questioned.

According to an AOL.com article posted on Oct. 21, 2019, Lisa claims her son read marketing materials circulated by JUUL which claimed there were none of the health risks associated with traditional tobacco cigarettes linked to vaping. Lisa says her son remained convinced there was no physical toll connected to e-cigarette use, yet he seemed to become enraged when he couldn’t do it.

According to the lawsuit, after a three-day stay at a local hospital for lung issues, Daniel’s body was found by his dad on the morning of Aug. 31, 2018. The death was attributed to breathing problems that Lisa says were caused by her son’s use of JUUL products.

Allegations Presented

According to the lawsuit, one JUUL pod contains “at least as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes”—a pack meaning approximately 20 cigarettes. Knowing this content level in advance, the complaint alleged that the JUUL marketing team targeted vulnerable youth by enticing young people to vape and become addicted to nicotine.

Through a 1988 report generated by the U.S. Surgeon General, nicotine in tobacco products was identified as highly-addictive. The physical and mental involvement in the addictive process with nicotine was noted in the report to mimic that of getting hooked on heroin or cocaine.

The allegations directed toward JUUL claim that the company subverted information regarding nicotine content in all marketing materials, insisting vaping was safe and harmless. It supposedly manipulated the PH of the nicotine so as to interrupt the negative feedback loop of throat irritation which discourages youth from continuing to smoke.

As indicated by the lawsuit, JUUL used social media extensively and campaigned for its products using young and highly-attractive models to associated vaping with being cool and trendy. Finally, JUUL offered vape products in candy-like flavors such as cool mint, creme brulee, and mango to further solidify the attraction.

The JUUL Wrongful Death Lawsuit is Case No.  3:19-cv-06597 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California