Dec 03, 2019 in News JUUL Vaping Lawsuit

JUUL Vaping Lawsuit: Should Provinces Impose Regulations on JUUL?

Over the last several months, Canadian health experts and personal injury lawyers have become increasingly concerned about the growing popularity of e-cigarettes among young Canadians. Research indicates that teen vaping rates have doubled since e-cigarettes were legalized in the country, and as many as 40 per cent of Canadian 16- to 19-year-olds have tried vaping with an e-cigarette at least once.

Vaping industry stakeholders insist that current tobacco users, not young people and non-smokers, are their target demographic. While e-cigarettes do contain nicotine – sometimes in alarmingly high doses – they do not involve tobacco leaf combustion and are generally seen as safer than tobacco cigarettes. In this way, they may be effective in helping current tobacco smokers quit.

However, as a recent Globe and Mail editorial articulates, JUUL’s marketing and advertising initiatives have little to do with helping smokers transition away from cigarettes. Instead, they appear to court a new generation of nicotine users with fun, teen-friendly flavours like bubblegum and birthday cake; endorsements from hip social media influencers; and little to say about the product’s potential risks.

“The American company JUUL, which makes the world’s most popular e-cigarettes, had US$2-billion in sales last year,” the editorial reads. “Its product was not designed to be a medical prophylactic; it was designed to be a cool device that provides a big nicotine hit.”

As personal injury lawyers call for increased regulation, vaping industry spokespeople claim restrictive e-cigarette laws would limit access for former tobacco smokers – and possibly even push them to the black market. But the risk of a generation of addicts is far more pressing, especially considering our limited understanding of nicotine’s impact on the adolescent brain.

In British Columbia, lawmakers recently proposed a series of vaping and e-cigarette regulations, including a substantial sales tax hike on vaping products, a cap on nicotine content, a ban on certain youth-friendly flavours, and a halt to advertising in youth-friendly locations. Numerous other jurisdictions in Canada and the United States are expected to follow suit. But it could be too late – through inappropriate marketing and deceptive messaging, JUUL has already gained a foothold with young, impressionable users.

If you currently JUUL or have used a JUUL in the past, you may be ennamed to financial compensation. Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers is accepting clients for a mass tort lawsuit against Juul Labs, the manufacturer of JUUL e-cigarettes. Contact us for more information or fill out a free and confidential case review today.

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