Juul gives up on South Korean market

American e-cigarette maker Juul (owned by Altria, maker of Marlboro, among others) has said it will end its operations in South Korea, just a year after entering the market. In a statement, the company said it had been in the process of restructuring since the beginning of the year, aimed at both cutting costs and innovating its products. In October 2019, South Korea's Ministry of Health had already advised people to stop vaping following the growing emergence of health problems: in particular, a case of pneumonia attributed to the use of e-cigarettes had been detected in a thirty-year-old person, and prompted various stores to suspend the sale of these products, including those manufactured by Juul Labs. In December, South Korean health authorities said they had found vitamin E acetate (associated with the onset of lung diseases) in some e-cigarette liquid products manufactured by Juul Labs, which has publicly denied using it. Juul Labs had launched new products specifically designed for the Korean market in May 2019, but the firm said in its press release that sales performance fell short of its expectations. Juul's departure from South Korea marks a new setback for the American e-cigarette giant, which, accused of having triggered an epidemic among younger generations and faced with an unprecedented crisis in the United States, is struggling to reassure financial markets of the sustainability of its business model. Source : Reuters, E-cigarette maker Juul Labs to exit South Korea after year of health controversies, May 6, 2020 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-vaping-juul/e-cigarette-maker-juul-labs-to-exit-south-korea-after-year-of-health-controversies-idUSKBN22I1C9 ©Tobacco Free Generation

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