“Cynical” advertising for younger people
E-cigarette maker pays hundreds of millions of dollars in fines
09/07/2022 03:13 am
The new e-cigarettes from Juul found rapid sales in the USA at times. This was also due to the fact that the company specifically marketed its product to young people. The result was lawsuits from dozens of US states that Juul can only settle with a lot of money.
Troubled e-cigarette company Juul has accepted an expensive settlement in a lawsuit with US states over marketing its products to younger customers. The company agreed to pay $438.5 million to settle the case. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said: He had led an alliance of 33 US states and Puerto Rico in the settlement negotiations.
At times, Juul had sold like hot cakes with its innovative flavored e-cigarettes that looked like USB sticks. But then the start-up from San Francisco came under heavy criticism and was targeted by supervisory and judicial authorities because of its advertising campaigns and aggressive marketing of the products to younger target groups. Juul said in a statement that the settlement that has now been reached is about “matters of the past.” The company had already completely reorganized itself and its business practices in 2019. According to its own statements, Juul has now settled proceedings in 37 states and Puerto Rico in the USA.
The most recent comparison prohibits the company, among other things, from marketing aimed at under-35s. “Juul cynically calculated its advertising campaigns to create a new generation of nicotine addicts,” said Connecticut Attorney Tong. The Juul crisis is also weighing on Marlboro maker Altria. He joined Juul in December 2018 for $12.8 billion with a 35 percent stake. In the meantime, the stake has been almost completely written off.