Olathe School District Sues Juul Labs

School district sues Juul labs

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Everybody knows that smoking, and now vaping, is not allowed in school. Notwithstanding that long-running prohibition, students are vaping at alarming rates on school property and disrupting school sessions in the process. As a result of the disruption, the Olathe School District has filed a lawsuit against Juul Labs, Inc. according to The Kansas City Star. The Olathe School Board recently voted in favor of filing the lawsuit at a meeting. The Goddard School District said it would file a lawsuit against Juul Labs, Inc. as well. E-cigarettes and vaping products are blamed for causing twelve deaths and 805 illnesses nationwide.

Juul is a target of the school districts because the company has the largest sales of any e-cigarette company and also has fruit and candy-flavored inserts that are desirable to teens. A school addiction expert believes that Juul has marketed its products to children. They call Juul’s advertising misleading and also claim that companies like Juul market specifically to middle school and high school kids to get them hooked on their product. Parents of young people who are addicted to vaping have also filed lawsuits alleging that the methods Juul and other companies use to advertise their goods appeals to kids solely to get them addicted.

Juul Labs, Inc. recently replaced its chief executive officer and has also committed to pulling its advertising across all available media as the company finds itself under the white hotspot light of political and social criticism. Juul’s sales figures show that the company owns 70% of e-cigarette sales across the U.S. No one company appears to be responsible for the illnesses and deaths people have suffered in the vaping health crisis that has gripped the country.

State and federal lawmakers have expressed an intent to ban flavored vaping products. However, some public health advocates criticize the move. They say that taking those products off the shelves limits adults’ ability to quit cigarette smoking.