After a year long investigation into one of the largest electronic cigarette companies—Juul Labs, Inc.—the state of Colorado is suing Juul for marketing techniques that target the youth. A recent article published by The Denver Post suggests that the company targeted the youth for sales of product and misinformed the population on Juul products being a healthier alternative to cigarettes. Scientists currently believe that electronic cigarettes are healthy alternatives, but only for previous cigarette smokers that have made the transition. The lawsuit claims that Juul purposely targeted the younger population deemed as “cool kids” through the use of social media ads and influencers, product ambassadors, and fruity pod flavors tailored to youth. Furthermore, the company was very relaxed in product replacement; instead of requiring customers to send in their broken devices, Juul allowed buyers to submit serial numbers in order to replace their product. In one example, a single customer who purchased 60 devices received 300 replacements when using serial numbers through the device warranties. Officials are also claiming that the company did not put a nicotine label on the product until the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) made it a requirement in 2018. Colorado has made the decision to sue this company after a state study proved that the youth in Colorado were smoking at the rate twice that of the national average. In efforts to reduce the numbers of youth smoking, cities like Aspen have banned the sales of any nicotine product and the federal government has pushed the purchasing age of nicotine to 21.
Colorado Sues Juul After a Yearlong Investigation on Marketing Strategies Aimed at Youth
