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Juul brand vaping pens are on sale at a store in Manhattan, NY, New York, USA, on February 6, 2019.
Federal prosecutors in California are conducting a criminal investigation into electronic cigarette maker Juul, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
The investigation, conducted by the US District Attorney's Office in the Northern District of California, is in its infancy, the newspaper reported, citing people close to the case. The Journal said it was impossible to learn to focus on the probe.
A spokesman for the Juul AG office and Northern District of California was not immediately available for comment.
The regulators criticized Juul for fueling a teenage "vape epidemic", scrutinizing the company's early advertising campaigns using young models and bright colors, according to health officials who seduced the children. Critics say the images position Juul as a lifestyle brand and attract young people. Legislators have also urged the FDA to remove most of the e-cigarettes from the market, including market leader Juul, in an epidemic of deadly lung disease linked to vaping that has sickened at least 530 people and killed eight people. .
In August, the Journal announced that the Federal Trade Commission was investigating whether Juul had used misleading marketing and targeted minors.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2016, more than 2 million high school and US high school students used electronic cigarettes over a 30-day period. The CDC warns that exposure to nicotine can adversely affect adolescent brain development.
Related Video: A closer look at the rise of vapers and backlash
Read the full Wall Street Journal report here.
-CNBC & # 39; s Angelica LaVito contributed to this report.
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