Monday, February 25, 2019

Juul sells e-cigarette liquid pods with very high levels of nicotine compared to competitors. This has brought increased scrutiny from the FDA and interest from researchers trying to evaluate the harmful effects of the “combustible” cigarette alternative.

A recent study by Stanford referred to the current e-cigarette market as “a nicotine arms race” as more and more competitors ratchet up e-cigarette nicotine levels to try to compete with Juul. Due to its high nicotine content, several lawsuits have been filed claiming the product was responsible for causing nicotine addiction.

In one case, the plaintiff alleges that his addiction to nicotine worsened when he switched to Juul to help stop smoking traditional cigarettes. He now vapes several Juul pods per week. The Stanford study equated one Juul pod to 40 packs of traditional cigarettes. If his reported use is accurate, it suggests this man is vaping the nicotine levels of at least 120 packs of cigarettes per week.

Other cases involved both adults and minors, all of whom claim the nicotine levels seriously addicted them to Juul. [See for example Colgate v. Juul.] One mother detailed how severe restrictions placed on her son—both at home and in school—had no effect on his need to use the Juul vaping product. Additional claims include false advertising from early Juul campaigns, and claims that Juul’s patented “nicotine salt” process is responsible for accelerating addiction. Juul insists the cases are without merit and will defend them—likely assisted by the recent $18 billion investment from tobacco giant, Altria.