Philadelphia filed a lawsuit against Juul Labs, for considering the company responsible for e-cigarette over ruse among teens and young people. City health officials described its impact as an epidemic.
The city is the latest in a group of states, including Pennsylvania, cities, and other municipal entities to file a lawsuit against the company for the overuse of electronic nicotine devices by young people. The lawsuit announced Wednesday was filed in California, Juul Labs home.
Philadelphia officials claim Juul Labs intentionally targeted its products to young people. As evidence, health studies have shown a sharp increase in e-cigarette use among school-aged children after years of declines in regular cigarette use.
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Pennsylvania sued the company in February 2020 alleging that a quarter of high school students in the state were using e-cigarettes.
Juul Labs will respond
On the other hand, Juul said Wednesday that it will continue to work to “combat underage use and transition adult smokers from combustible cigarettes”. The company assured also that will respond to the lawsuit’s allegations “through the appropriate legal channels.”
Earlier this month Juul Labs announced a collaboration with nonprofit We Card with the purpose to prevent sales of age-restricted products to minors.” We partner with key organizations that share in our desire to restrict underage access of vapor products to protect the historic opportunity to provide these products to adult smokers”, the firm stated.
The 2020 National Youth Tobacco Survey reported about 1.8 million fewer U.S. youth using e-cigarettes compared to last year. But it reported 3.6 million youth currently using e-cigarettes.