Juul CEO Steps Down
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The chief executive officer as Juul Labs agreed to step down amid turmoil facing the company. An executive from Altria Group, a part-owner of Juul Labs (and manufacturer of cigarettes) will fill the role according to the Washington Post. Additionally, Juul Labs announced that it would not fight any ban on flavored e-cigarette products imposed by a federal, state, or local government. Furthermore, Juul Labs also announced that the company would cancel its advertising camping it calls “Make the Switch” after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration heavily criticized Juul Labs’ advertising campaign slogan for being misleading to the public.
The public pressure placed on e-cigarette manufacturers like Juul Labs is nearly insurmountable. Mysterious lung diseases and the recent statistics showing that that underage use of vaping products is extremely high prompted Juul Labs to make the change in their leadership.
The lung ailments are cause for great concern among public health officials. To this point, 530 people have fallen ill, and nine have died from vaping. Many of those people who got sick are very young. Also, health officials have been unsuccessful in figuring out what has caused this health scare.
One popular member of the U.S. House of Representatives was vocal in his criticism of the FDA. The representative said that the FDA should have acted sooner than it did, which the commissioner of the FDA conceded. Also, the representative called the FDA’s inaction a “massive regulatory failure.” The acting commissioner for the FDA observed data that showed teen use of vaping products declining. Also, the FDA had been proactive in sending correspondence and levying fines against companies selling vaping products to underage customers. The FDA will advance initiatives aimed at curbing young people vaping habits.
Instead of waiting for the FDA to act, Massachusetts banned all vaping products by executive order. The Commonwealth is the first governmental body to announce a complete ban.
