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Juul, the US start-up, has launched the first of a series of bluetooth-connected e-cigarettes, allowing users to monitor and track their device's evolution, while seeking to dispel fears related to it. to the resumption of activity of adolescents.
The Juul C1, as its name suggests, began being sold in the UK this week after a successful pilot in Canada.
Dan Thomson, general manager of Juul's UK operations, said that to be able to use the device, linked to an app on users' smartphones, customers had to go through rigorous age verification checks including recognition Facial and a two-step background check with third-party databases.
In the United States, Juul is under fire for its high turnout among teenagers, prompting the US Food and Drug Administration to quell vaping. Last year, the organization said the problem had reached the "epidemic" level.
Under a Juul policy, retailers are required to check the identity of anyone who looks to be under 25 years old. It is illegal to own a vape in the UK before the age of 18.
In June, San Francisco, where Juul is based, became the first city in the United States to ban electronic cigarettes in an effort to curb youth uptake.
The Juul C1 device will allow users to monitor the number of puffs they take per day, as well as locate their vape if they lose it. It also has an auto-lock option that locks the ecigarette when it's out of range of the phone to prevent users from using it.
Roxy Wacyk, director of product management at Juul, said the company is planning a "regular rate of application updates" and is looking at features that allow users to limit their vapotages and their use. geofencing versus use in public places such as schools.
However, privacy experts have expressed concerns about the collection of data needed to develop the device.
"The data on the machine that is returned to the manufacturer can tell you a lot about the user and the user," said Martin Garner, chief operating officer of CCS Technology Consulting. Insight.
"The main risk is that this data is disclosed. . . you can identify the person from that. . . and that there could be health-related information, which is an extremely sensitive area in the GDPR, "he added.
"The purpose of the design of this product was not to collect data as such. It had to be able to give data to customers, "Thomson said.
Juul said he does not intend to "sell data to other organizations at the moment."
"The usage data will never be shared or sold to third parties without the express consent of the person," he said.
Juul, whose parent company, Pax Labs, developed a connected cannabis vaporizer, said he was the first to market a "large-scale" nicotine vape.
However, it will compete with British American Tobacco, which launched its application-controlled vaping product, Vype iSwitch, in the UK in December.
BAT claimed to have sold more than 2,000 of these connected electronic cigarettes but was still evaluating the viability of the product.
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