JUUL and four other vape manufacturers have been asked by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to turn over marketing documents as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged deceptive marketing practices.
The FTC seeks annual sales data, promotions such as giveaways, social media, college campus programs, and influencer and affiliate programs from 2019 and 2020. In 2019, the FTC asked the vape companies to provide similar data for 2015 through 2018.
For years, JUUL has faced heat over its marketing of vapes, allegedly luring youth by designing devices to look like thumb drives, selling flavored e-liquids, and using social media influencers popular with teens to promote their vapes.
Last year, the vape giant’s marketing was the target of investigations from 39 states, as well as lawsuits from teens and young adults who claimed the company seduced them to try the products and were misled about how much nicotine they contained.
JUUL was also hit by a series of lawsuits from school districts and other public entities, represented by Beasley Allen attorneys and co-counsel. The lawsuits accuse JUUL of using deceptive marketing strategies that targeted youth, endangering them with nicotine-containing e-liquids, and leaving school districts with little choice but to shoulder the money, time, and resources to deal with students addicted to JUUL vapes.
In 2019, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) chastised the company for claiming its vapes were safer alternatives to traditional cigarettes. Later that year, under pressure from the FDA and mounting lawsuits, JUUL announced it would suspend all broadcast, print, and digital advertising in the U.S.
Later that year, the Trump administration announced a ban on flavored e-liquids except menthol and tobacco flavors. JUUL had voluntarily stopped selling some of its sweeter-flavored e-liquids in 2018.
JUUL Lawsuit
Beasley Allen lawyers Joseph VanZandt, Sydney Everett, James Lampkin, Beau Darley, Soo Seok Yang, and Mass Torts Section Head Andy Birchfield are currently representing several individuals suing the top U.S. vape maker JUUL for the negative impact its products have had on their lives. These lawyers currently make up our firm’s JUUL Litigation Team. Lawsuits have also been filed on behalf of school districts and public entities across the country, which seek to protect students and recover resources spent fighting the vaping epidemic. If you have a potential claim or need more information on JUUL, contact any of the team’s lawyers.
