American e-cigarette maker Juul (owned by Altria, maker of Marlboro, among others) has announced that it will shut down its operations in South Korea, just one year after entering the market.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the company said it had begun a restructuring process since the beginning of the year, aimed at both reducing costs and bringing innovations to its products.<\/p>\n
In October 2019, the South Korean 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 consumption of electronic 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.<\/p>\n
In December, South Korean health officials said they had found vitamin E acetate (linked to lung disease) in some liquid e-cigarette products made by Juul Labs, which has publicly denied its use.<\/p>\n
Juul Labs launched new products specifically designed for the Korean market in May 2019, but the company said in its statement that sales performance fell short of its expectations.<\/p>\n
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 facing an unprecedented crisis in the United States, is struggling to reassure financial markets of the sustainability of its business model.<\/p>\n
Source :<\/strong><\/p>\n Reuters, E-cigarette maker Juul Labs to exit South Korea after year of health controversies, May 6, 2020<\/p>\n