INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The FDA has its eye on Juul Labs, the e-cigarette company that has captured nearly half of the $2 billion e-cig market.Yesterday, the U.S
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced a new initiative called the Youth Tobacco Prevention Plan
While the agency is focused on making sure kids don’t have easy access to any e-cigs, the Juul vaporizer seems to be of particular concern
to them.As part of the initiative, the FDA has sent a request for information to Juul Labs in an effort to understand why young people are
so attracted to the product.Over the past year, a number of reports have suggested that teen vape use, especially with the Juul, is steeply
on the rise.The request is for documents related to “product marketing; research on the health, toxicological, behavioral or physiologic
effects of the products, including youth initiation and use; whether certain product design features, ingredients or specifications appeal
to different age groups; and youth-related adverse events and consumer complaints associated with the products.”In response, Juul Labs
issued a press release announcing its plan to combat underage use
The strategy includes an initial investment of $30 million over the next three years going towards independent research, youth and parent
education and community engagement efforts
Juul Labs also said it will support federal and state initiatives to raise the legal minimum purchase age to 21+
The company website has required that purchasers be 21 or older since August 2017.Here’s what Juul CEO Kevin Burns had to say about it:Our
company’s mission is to eliminate cigarettes and help the more than one billion smokers worldwide switch to a better alternative
We are already seeing success in our efforts to enable adult smokers to transition away from cigarettes and believe our products have the
potential over the long-term to contribute meaningfully to public health in the U.S
At the same time, we are committed to deterring young people, as well as adults who do not currently smoke, from using our products
We cannot be more emphatic on this point: No young person or non-nicotine user should ever try JUUL.Juul Labs is not the only organization
that the FDA is cracking down on
The agency said it had sent out 40 warning letters to retailers selling e-cigs, including the Juul, to minors
Some of those retailers were caught as the result of a ‘blitz’ that has been underway since the beginning of April.The agency has also
asked eBay to take down all listings of Juul vaporizers, which run the risk of being sold to minors.Alongside the FDA’s request for
information from Juul Labs, the agency is also sending out similar letters to other e-cig manufacturers.
