Juul’s Latest Effort to Prevent Sales to Kids Is Too Little Too Late

 Juul’s announcement that it is implementing new measures to prevent sales to kids is the latest example of the company doing too little too late to address the youth e-cigarette epidemic created by its sweet-flavored, high-nicotine products.

Efforts to curtail illegal sales to kids are a positive step, but won’t solve the problem so long as Juul and other flavored e-cigarettes that entice kids remain widely available. So long as Juul and other manufacturers continue to sell products with kid-friendly designs and flavors and marketing that makes the products cool, history shows that kids will find a way to get them. Rather than voluntary half-measures by manufacturers, we need effective regulation of e-cigarettes by the FDA and other policy makers, starting with a ban on all flavored e-cigarettes. The science is clear: 97% of youth e-cigarette users used a flavored product in the past month, and 70% of youth users cite flavors as a key reason.

Juul’s announcement is an effort to divert attention from the fact that it caused the youth epidemic with its sleek, easy-to-hide product, sweet flavors like mango and mint, and massive doses of nicotine – launched with social media marketing that a Stanford study found was patently youth-oriented. Juul is responsible for creating the youth e-cigarette epidemic, and its half-measures won’t undo the harm it is causing to a generation of kids.