BVSD becomes latest local entity to sue Juul over underage e-cig use

BOULDER — The Boulder Valley School District is suing electronic cigarette maker JUUL Labs Inc. alleging the firm knowingly contributed to the rapid use of e-cigarettes by minors. The district joins a growing list of public organizations taking legal action against Juul. Locally, Boulder, Denver, Jefferson, Eagle and Pitkin counties have sued the San Francisco-based company. The Boulder Valley School district board voted in April to explore the possibility of filing suit against Juul, according to a Boulder Daily Camera report. Affiliates such as cigarette maker Altria Group Inc. and Juul executives are co-defendants in the BVSD suit, filed this week in U.S. District Court in Denver. The district includes 56 schools and more than 31,000 students. BVSD’s suit accuses Juul and its affiliates of racketeering by trying to entice teenagers to use their products while publicly denying the potential adverse health effects.  The company knowingly made false and misleading health statements while adopting the cigarette industry’s tried and true marketing techniques aimed at hooking young people.  The school district is also claiming Juul violated Colorado public nuisance and negligence laws.  Noting Juul’s rapid rise to popularity, BVSD attorneys wrote, “JUUL products are rampant in the nation’s schools, with the percentage of 12th graders who reported consuming nicotine almost doubling between 2017 and 2018. In 2019, more than five million middle and high school students reported current use of e-cigarettes, including more than one in every four high schoolers.” Last fall, the city of Boulder raised the age to buy vaping equipment to 21, banned the sale of flavored pods, while voters approved a 40% tax on vaping sales. The suit demands unspecified actual and compensatory damages, funding prevention education and addiction treatment, and court fees.  In a statement to BizWest, a Juul representative touted the company’s willingness to work with communities to address concerns about underage use but did not specifically address the allegations raised in the BVSD complaint. “We will continue to reset the vapor category in the U.S. and seek to earn the trust of society by working cooperatively with attorneys general, legislators, regulators, public health officials, and other stakeholders to combat underage use and transition adult smokers from combustible cigarettes,” Juul senior communications director Austin Finan said in an email. “As part of that process, the company reduced its product portfolio, halted television, print, and digital product advertising and submitted a Premarket Tobacco Product Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration including comprehensive scientific evidence to support the harm reduction potential of its products and data-driven measures to address underage use. Our customer base is the world’s 1 billion adult smokers. We will respond to the allegations in the complaint through the appropriate legal channels.” © 2020 BizWest Media LLC  
Source: BizWest

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