Juul Labs announced it will immediately stop selling all fruit-flavored e-cigarette pods as scrutiny over the company’s role in the teen vaping epidemic mounts.
“We must reset the vapor category by earning the trust of society and working cooperatively with regulators, policymakers, and stakeholders to combat underage use while providing an alternative to adult smokers,” Juul CEO K.C. Crosthwaite said in a statement Thursday.
Crosthwaite, previously a top executive at tobacco giant Altria, has made several efforts to get into the Food and Drug Administration’s good graces as the Trump administration scrutinizes e-cigarette manufacturers for marketing appealing flavors to kids. In September, Crosthwaite announced that Juul would suspend all lobbying efforts in Washington, as well as broadcast and print advertising.
Juul’s announcement comes just one day after a congressional committee hearing about legislation to crack down on flavored vaping products that appeal to teens, including Juul’s fruit medley and mango-flavored pods.
In September, President Trump announced an imminent ban on sales of flavored e-cigarette products. While the FDA has not yet finalized terms of the ban, pressure is escalating as about 1,299 people nationwide have been diagnosed with vaping-related lung injuries and 26 people have died.
Public health officials on both federal and state levels have found that most victims were vaping illegal THC oils, vaping liquids derived from marijuana that create a high, and the black-market liquids caused an injury in the lungs which resembles a burn. Health experts and lawmakers say, though, that there is a nonzero chance that nicotine vaping products, Juul included, are contributing to the thousands of injuries.
