Juul, in search of international respectability

The Juul brand, leader in electronic cigarettes, is undergoing an unprecedented crisis in the United States. The company, largely owned by the cigarette manufacturer Altria (Philip Morris International), is facing hundreds of lawsuits, as well as investigations by American states and federal investigations, for being responsible for having caused the nicotine consumption of the younger generations to explode, via an illegal advertising and marketing strategy. Juul is nevertheless striving to continue its development and is increasingly deploying its activities towards Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa and South America, with a renewed message. The brand presents itself as a responsible player with its less harmful solution and alternative to traditional smoking. Accused of having spread a " epidemic » nicotine in the United States, the company is leading an aggressive lobbying offensive with governments around the world to advocate for its products and for the reduction of the tax burden on all new tobacco products. The brand goes so far as to propose that governments draft the texts of laws on electronic cigarettes, when Article 5.3 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) prohibits any form of interference by the tobacco industry in public health policies. However, the Juul company, which is seeking to buy itself a new respectability with public decision-makers and consumers alike, has applied the old marketing recipes of cigarette companies to the letter. The brand has indeed established itself in a few years thanks to a sleek and elegant design, conceived as a fashion accessory, and by offering different sweet and fruity flavors aimed at young people (passion fruit, mango, crème brûlée). As The Bureau of Investigate Journalism shows, Juul has « organized yacht parties, rooftop movie clubs and concerts. The brand even funded summer camps for children as young as eight and went into schools, advertising e-cigarettes as “completely safe[1]". ©Tobacco Free Generation

---

[1]Davies, Chapman, Kasperkevic, The Bureau of Investigate Journalism, “Juul spreads over the world as home market collapses in scandal », 21/11/2019 https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2019-11-21/juul-spreads-over-the-world-as-home-market-collapses-in-scandal | ©National Committee Against Smoking |