Juul will continue the advertising campaign despite the concerns of the FDA

Before President Trump's announcement on Wednesday that flavored electronic cigarettes should be banned, Juul was already under attack this week by federal regulators, worried about a vape advertising campaign that recommended consumers to switch to regular cigarettes.

Despite a letter to Kevin Burns, CEO of Juul, from the Food and Drug Administration, expressing this discomfort, the company does not seem too worried.

Juul, who announced his "Make the Switch" campaign in January, told CNBC, through a spokesperson, that he was considering continuing to broadcast the spots for now and had already bought advertisements for next month by reviewing the FDA letter. "Make the Switch" features adults telling how they stopped smoking thanks to Juul. The FDA has expressed concern that commercials suggest that switching to Juul is a safer alternative to cigarettes.

Companies can not advertise their products as harmful as cigarettes without the prior approval of the FDA, and Juul has not yet submitted an application to the FDA. Federal health officials, as well as the president, are calling for a massive crackdown on flavored electronic cigarettes, a market run by Juul, while millions of teenagers have said they have used these products and among them. outbreak of a mysterious lung disease that has caused the death of hundreds of people at least six people.

In its letter to Juul, the FDA requested documents and other information regarding its marketing, advertising, promotion and education campaigns, as well as its product development activities. Specifically, the FDA is looking for scientific evidence or data indicating whether its use of terms such as "switch" and "alternative" gives people the idea that Juul electronic cigarettes are less harmful than combustible cigarettes.

The letter blurs Juul's attempts to rename himself and adds another headache to the company, which is already fighting accusations that it has fueled a teenage vape epidemic. It also highlights the advertising of e-cigarettes and raises the question of whether companies should be allowed to market their products.

In addition, the company has 15 days to respond to a warning letter from the FDA regarding allegations that Juul's representatives claimed their e-cigarettes were less harmful than cigarettes during school presentations. Native American tribes.

According to the iSpot advertising measurement company, Juul would have spent more than $ 29 million on 8,717 TV spots in the United States since Jan. 8, the day the campaign was announced. Advertisements were also published on paper, online and on the radio, including a one-page print advertisement stating, "The average smoker is trying to quit more than 30 times.

Juul works with the DDB advertising agency belonging to the Omnicom group, which did not comment on the Juul campaign.

Television commercials in progress include names of people who have "changed" Juul for various reasons. A couple, Roy and Kathy, explain how much Kathy felt lonely while her husband was going out to smoke. Stacey, a makeup artist, explains that by using a Juul, she no longer smells like she does makeup a customer. Another theme in commercials is that people feel shy about smoking cigarettes in an office.

Jidong Huang, an associate professor at the Georgia State University School of Public Health, said Juul would likely continue the campaign because the company was very careful about the language used in its commercials.

Companies can not say that their products help people quit unless the FDA approves them as quit products. The advertisements of Juul use instead "switch". Juul says that "quitting" and "changing" are completely different things.

"It will be very difficult for the FDA to challenge Juul in court because Juul did not specifically indicate that his product would help smokers quit in these advertisements," Huang said.

Huang said current investigations by the FDA and the Federal Trade Commission on Juul marketing, as well as lawsuits filed by several attorneys general, would likely have more impact on Juul's advertising practices.

Michael Siegel, a professor at the Boston School of Public Health and a tobacco researcher, said Juul's "Make the Switch" ads did not seem to break the rules.

"Advertisements do not make a health claim," he said. "And they do not make a reduced risk claim."

Siegel is concerned that the fact that Juul is not allowed to promote its products as less harmful than cigarettes has the unintended consequence of pushing the company to give up the message of stopping smoking and launching in a more dangerous area to attract children by touting the coolness of the devices.

Juul launched from 2015 a campaign called "Vaporized" (Vaporized), which included social media and email marketing, live events and web material. This campaign has been criticized and seems to have been designed for children. Since then, Juul regretted this campaign.

"I would say that this law has been detrimental because it forces companies to talk about other things, to advertise their products based on other features that will really appeal to children," she said. he declared.

Siegel said that the honest message would be that Juul comes to say, "Smoking is really bad for you, we know it's hard to quit," and here's a product "that delivers nicotine without tar". The rules "have rather had the perverse effect of forcing electronic cigarette manufacturers to advertise in a much more appealing way for young people."

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