JUUL Labs — A Company Under Siege

There’s not a whole lot to love about Juul Labs. Over the years, they’ve come to dominate an industry they don’t understand or meaningfully contribute to, while simultaneously rolling over on their bellies anytime the FDA comes knocking. Their passivity and questionable business practices, meanwhile, have cast doubt and scrutiny over the entire vaping industry as Juul Labs have become the unelected face of vaping.

That having been said, it’s important to keep an eye on what’s happening to them. As the FDA continues their crusade, any consequence which befalls the most powerful company in the market is sure to absolutely crush the smaller companies upon whom so many individual vapers rely. This latest attack regards Juul Labs’ marketing practices.

According to the FDA, Juul Labs illegally marketed their products by claiming them to be a safe alternative to traditional cigarettes. On Monday, the agency issued a warning letter to Juul, referencing their “violation of federal regulations”. Their statement also indicated that companies require federal approval to promote and sell products as “healthy alternatives”, a federal approval not granted to Juul.

This new attack by the FDA marks yet another setback as Juul strives to rebrand itself as the friendly neighborhood vape company that cares deeply about the well-being of children. Part of this rebrand includes their new Juul C1, a vape that will be linked to smartphones. The C1 will have advanced identification verification features and may even include geofencing to prevent vapes from firing within school grounds.

Despite recent evidence to the contrary, the FDA has also continued its push to link recent hospitalizations across the country to vaping. In a time where vaping is nearly synonymous with Juul, especially to those outside the vaping community, this sustained pressure is falling heavily upon Juul Labs. Five deaths have been dubiously connected with vaping at large, while hundreds of other hospitalizations are also being blamed on vapes.

This recently announced FDA investigation, however, precedes this summer’s panic over vaping. Recently, Juul executives were forced to testify before the congressional oversight committee, during which they were relentlessly grilled by consumer groups like PAVE as well as congressmen. Ned Sharpless, the acting FDA commissioner, characterizes the investigation thusly: “Regardless of where products like e-cigarettes fall on the continuum of tobacco product risk, the law is clear that, before marketing tobacco products for reduced risk, companies must demonstrate with scientific evidence that their specific product does in fact pose less risk or is less harmful.”

 

 

While dozens of reputable studies have been conducted in the past years to prove that vaping is in fact far safer than traditional cigarettes, the FDA holds that, since these studies don’t specifically reference Juul Labs in their findings, Juul is not able to take advantage of them in their promotional materials.

While the investigation has been ongoing for months, on Monday, the FDA pointed out specific instances that they felt violated restrictions. Kevin Burns, CEO of Juul Labs, had made a statement on their website, for instance, in which he claimed that Juul products “heat nicotine liquid and deliver smokers the satisfaction that they want without the combustion and harm associated with it.” The FDA, naturally, has taken specific issue with the usage of the word “harm”, claiming that this was a message promoting Juul as a reduced-risk alternative to smoking. While true, it is, apparently, not legal to say so.

The aforementioned congressional testimony also included examples that were cited by the FDA on Monday. According to two high school students, a Juul representative made similar claims at an allegedly “anti-vaping meeting” held at their high school. According to the students’ testimony, representatives from Juul Labs told them that Juul devices were “much safer than cigarettes” and “totally safe”.

Naturally, Juul has vehemently denied any allegations that its marketing was intended to influence teenagers. With this recent statement, it seems the FDA may be finding it difficult to prove Juul’s targeting of teenagers, opting instead to attack them on legal grounds regarding their “reduced harm” messaging. On Monday, the FDA also announced their intent to impose civil penalties or an injunction in order to seize the company’s products. A move like this would represent an unprecedented level of aggression and escalation from an agency which is primarily regulatory in nature.

In response to this latest statement from the FDA, Juul has assured investigators that they intend to fully cooperate with their investigation while insisting that they have never broken any regulations, nor have they willfully targeted underage vapers.  Over the summer, Juul has taken several steps backward in their marketing department, vanishing from social media, pulling their flavored Juul pods from shelves, and committing to a campaign discouraging teenage use of their products.

As the debate regarding Juul Labs and vaping as a whole continues to rage, there are those in positions of power who seek even more aggression towards the vaping industry. Senator Richard J. Durbin (D. – Illinois) recently penned a letter to President Trump himself, pleading with him to replace Ned Sharpless with someone who would take an even more hawkish stance on vaping.

The lesson here is one that law enforcement and military agencies learned decades ago: you don’t negotiate with terrorists. Or, in this case, the FDA. With each concession made by Juul, the FDA has only grown more aggressive – and still, most ardent anti-vapers are not appeased. When Juul was first targeted, they removed all their flavored pods from shelves of their own free will. While many remember this situation as being imposed upon them by the FDA, there was no injunction or court order against the company at the time.

In response, the FDA pressed harder, raiding their headquarters and seizing their marketing materials. In response, Juul Labs agreed to continue to work with the FDA on discouraging teen use, all while proclaiming their innocence. Then, the FDA pressed Juul into a congressional hearing, where, by all accounts, they were absolutely skewered. Each time Juul takes a step back, the FDA takes three steps forward. While Juul Labs is miles ahead of other vape companies in terms of name recognition, financial backing, and influence, they have proven themselves to be a cowardly and self-preserving company with no interest in sticking up for a beleaguered industry.

In the months and years to come, Juul Labs will continue to roll over, seeking only to avoid the worst of the fallout from the vaping hysteria sweeping America.