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California Sues Juul, Alleging The E-Cigarette Maker Violated Privacy Of Minors To Market To Them

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California is suing San Francisco-based Juul Labs, charging that the e-cigarette maker targeted minors through a variety of unlawful marketing practices.

The allegations mirror those levied against Juul in other lawsuits—chiefly, that Juul marketed its products to children and failed to warn the public about health risks. But California’s lawsuit takes things a step further, tacking on the additional charge that the company stored the digital information of minors that it used for marketing purposes.

Juul knew that it was marketing to minors because it sent marketing and advertising materials to individuals who failed its age-verification process, the lawsuit alleges. The suit details a minor under the age of 18 who was blocked from purchasing products by Juul’s online age verification process, but who received marketing emails anyway. One email was titled “Start Your Journey,” while another offered $15 in credit if the user referred an adult smoker to purchase the products, the lawsuit states.

“After a 21-month investigation, our lawsuit alleges that Juul targeted underage Californians with its marketing and sales practices of its nicotine addictive vaping products,” attorney general Xavier Becerra said during a press conference.

The lawsuit, which was filed in the Alameda County Superior Court, further alleges that Juul encouraged customers to alter personal information, such as their names and addresses, in order to successfully complete a transaction. Juul’s customer service representatives encouraged consumers who failed the age-verification process a first time to try again with different information, the suit states.

In some cases—including one in March—the reps would then alter the shipment information, the lawsuit claims. For example, an order placed to an age-verified consumer in Seattle was rerouted to a different person in a different city. After one Juul developer wrote in a Slack message that “we probably shouldn’t allow [customer service] to edit addresses after the 45 min cutoff; can only lead to confusion,” a colleague replied, “and/or huge compliance violations [grin emoji]. For all we know this is an underage person.”

Juul spokesperson Austin Finan said in a statement that the company is already taking steps to reduce youth use, such as discontinuing the sale of mint products and investing in scientific research. “While we have not yet reviewed the complaint, we remain focused on resetting the vapor category in the U.S. and earning the trust of society by working cooperatively with attorneys general, regulators, public health officials, and other stakeholders to combat underage use and convert adult smokers from combustible cigarettes,” Finan said in the statement.

California is the second state to sue Juul. In May, North Carolina announced a lawsuit against the e-cigarette company for marketing to youth and misleading the public on the health hazards of its products. Juul is also the target of investigations from the Food and Drug Administration and Federal Trade Commission, as well as a flurry of lawsuits from school districts and consumers, many of which are suing Juul for nicotine addiction or more severe health effects.

Scrutiny over its role in what the FDA labeled a youth vaping “epidemic” has led Juul to make C-level executive changes and discontinue its marketing efforts. The company is planning to cut 16% of jobs as part of its restructuring, according to The Wall Street Journal. Last December, tobacco giant Altria took a 35% take in the company, pushing its valuation to $38 billion. Altria recently wrote down its investment, knocking more than $10 billion off Juul’s valuation amid the latter’s setbacks.

In San Francisco, where the e-cigarette maker is based, voters overwhelmingly affirmed a complete ban on e-cigarette products, despite Juul pouring $15.7 million into a campaign to stop the ban.

California’s forceful move against Juul comes on a day when the White House backtracked on plans to implement a federal ban on the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. Multiple reports suggested that President Trump may have reneged as a result of an October poll that found the majority of vape users would be less likely to approve of Trump if he enacted the ban.

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