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Juul paid $ 51,000 to a science journal to devote its entire bimonthly issue to 11 studies claiming the e-cig brand helped smokers get rid of their addiction to regular cigarettes.
The May / June issue of the American Journal of Health Behavior is captioned “Special Issue on Juul.”
Of the $ 51,000 Juul paid the AJHB to print the issue, $ 6,500 was paid to make the edition available to the public free of charge. The 44-year-old journal is a subscription publication that normally charges readers a fee.
Three members of the AJHB editorial board have resigned to protest the arrangement, according to the New York Times.
The AJHB edition includes an introduction by two doctors – Saul Shiffman and Erik M. Augustson – who cite two clinical studies which show that “exposure to toxic substances related to smoking decreases sharply when smokers switch from conventional cigarettes to Juul”.
Juul paid a science journal $ 51,000 to devote its entire bimonthly issue to 11 studies claiming the brand has helped smokers get rid of their addiction to regular cigarettes.
The May / June issue of the American Journal of Health Behavior is captioned “Special Issue on Juul.” Of the $ 51,000 Juul paid the AJHB to print the issue, $ 6,500 was paid to make the edition available to the public for free.
The AJHB edition includes an introduction by two doctors – Saul Shiffman and Erik M. Augustson – who cite two clinical studies which show that “exposure to smoking-related toxins drops sharply when smokers switch from conventional cigarettes to Juul”.
The e-cigarette maker, once a dominant player in the flavored tobacco market, is now on the verge of being eventually barred from selling its nicotine pods in the United States.
The Food and Drug Administration must decide by September 9 whether the company can continue to operate in the United States, where thousands of people have filed lawsuits accusing it of making teens addicted to vaping.
Young people who had never smoked cigarettes before began to receive their hit from Juul, critics say, which is why the federal government should reject his request.
Health advocacy groups like the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network want the FDA to ban Juul from selling its products.
Critics also note that in 2018, Altria, the company behind popular tobacco brands like Marlboro, bought a $ 12.8 billion stake in Juul.
Like Big Tobacco, Juul has spent millions of dollars lobbying lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Since the dangers of vaping became more widely known, the company has seen its market share drop from 75% in 2018 to 42% in 2020.
Its sales fell by $ 500 million as it ceased operations in 14 countries.
Last month, Juul struck a $ 40 million deal with the state of North Carolina.
As part of the landmark deal, the e-cigarette maker agreed to take more action to prevent underage use and sales.
The design of the Juul devices makes them easy to use, carry and hide for teenagers. Before the government banned the company from marketing flavored products, they were sold in fruity and sweet flavors appealing to younger people.
A state judge accepted the first such agreement with a state.
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein had sued Juul, accusing him of using unfair and deceptive practices targeting young people to use his vaping products, which produce addictive nicotine.
The trial was due to be tried this month.
As part of the deal, Juul will not advertise to anyone under the age of 21 in North Carolina, including through social media, and will limit the amount of sales of Juul products online to all residents of the State.
It will also sell its products only behind the counters of retailers equipped with ID scanners to ensure customers are of legal age.
The use of e-cigarettes by teens soared by more than 70% after Juul launched in 2015, leading the FDA to declare an “epidemic” of teen vaping.
Health experts have said the unprecedented increase risks hooking a generation of young people into nicotine, an addictive chemical that’s harmful to the developing brain.
“Juul started and spread a disease – the disease of nicotine addiction. They did it to teenagers in North Carolina and this country just to make money, ” Stein, a Democrat, said after a brief court hearing.
“Today’s court order will go a long way in ensuring that their e-cigarette product is not in the hands of children, that its chemical vapor leaves their lungs, and that nicotine does not poison or make not their addicting brains. “
Juul, which is partly owned by Altria Group Inc., has seen sales plummet after already halting all social media advertising and promotion and removing most of its flavors, with the exception of menthol.
“This regulation is consistent with our continued efforts to reset our business and its relationships with our stakeholders, as we continue to fight against underage use and advance the possibility of harm reduction for adult smokers,” said Juul said in a statement after the court hearing.
“We are looking to continue to gain confidence through action. “
Several states have filed their own lawsuits against Juul.
Teenage E-Cigarette Use Has Increased 70% Since Juul Launched In 2015
A group of 39 state attorneys general have been cooperatively investigating the company’s marketing and products since February 2020.
Juul also faces hundreds of personal injury lawsuits from customers and families of young people who said they were injured or addicted to the company’s products.
These were consolidated in a California federal case.
Last year, at least 60 people died and more than 2,600 were hospitalized across the country for vaping-related lung illnesses.
According to the CDC, about 83% of people who fell ill reported vaping THC, the main psychoactive component in marijuana.
It was detected in 48 of 51 tissue samples from patients with – so-called – EVALI (lung disease associated with the use of e-cigarettes or vaping products).
Juul had already been taken to court this spring in the North Carolina case.
Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson said in May the company destroyed documents and ignored court orders, leading to possible massive monetary penalties.
Teen vaping has declined significantly over the past year, according to the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In a national survey, just under 20% of high school students said they were recent users of e-cigarettes and other vaping products, up from around 28% in 2019.
Experts point to flavor restrictions as well as a new federal law that raised the age limit for all tobacco and vaping sales to 21.
Anti-vaping advocates hailed the decision. But they said more restrictions were needed to limit teenage use, including banning menthol from Juul and all other e-cigarettes.
“The evidence is clear that Juul’s high-dose nicotine products have caused the e-cigarette epidemic among young people,” said a statement from Matthew Myers of the Tobacco Free Campaign.
“The evidence is also clear that the minty flavor appeals to children and that children have turned to minty products. “
Stein wrote to the FDA asking them to ban menthol e-cigarettes and limit their nicotine levels.
The settlement, which Hudson signed, also directs visits by young people to “secret customers” to stores to ensure the restrictions are enforced.
The $ 40 million, to be paid over six years, will be allocated by the state to stop and prevent vaping programs and research into electronic cigarettes.
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