US Epidemic Slowing Down, But JUUL Labs Threatens The Whole Industry

Source from:  VapingPost 10/28/2019

Leading pod mod maker JUUL Labs has angered vapers by surrendering to pressure and withdrawing most of its flavoured cartridges from sale. With such a prominent company axing flavours, there will now be more pressure on the rest of the industry to do the same. This is all happening as the US lung disease epidemic caused by contaminated THC cartridges begins to stabilise, with new cases falling off sharply. There are signs that states are beginning to back away from extreme anti-vaping laws, with California’s governor vetoing one bill that would have loaded companies with extra paperwork, and Iowa’s governor saying she won’t use an executive order to ban sales of e-cigs.

JUUL surrenders on flavoured liquids.

In a move that’s outraged much of the vaping community, popular e-cig manufacturer JUUL Labs announced last Thursday that it’s suspending sales of most of its flavoured liquid cartridges. This comes when the whole industry is under pressure from local and state level flavour bans, pushed through under the pretext of fighting the “teen vaping epidemic”.

JUUL’s new CEO, KC Crosthwaite, says the company’s priority is “earning the trust of society”. Critics say this is a waste of time, because a large segment of society simply hates vaping and isn’t going to change its mind whatever companies do. Meanwhile, JUUL will stop selling all flavours except tobacco, mint and menthol. This is a clear surrender to anti-vaping extremists, who claim that adults don’t like flavours and therefore their only purpose is to appeal to children.

On the same day a small pressure group, the Campaign for Environmental Health (CEH) announced that it had won a lawsuit against JUUL Labs that would stop the company “targeting children” in its advertising. The settlement only applies in California, but JUUL’s quick surrender to the latest wave of public health attacks is sure to embolden other anti-vaping groups. By attracting so much publicity, and then caving in so completely, JUUL Labs has guaranteed a lot more controversy over whose side it’s really on.  Enditem