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 Research released this week in the Journal of the American Medical
Association found that mint was by far the most popular flavor among
U.S. 10th and 12th grade Juul users, with more than 40% saying it
was the most frequently used variety of nicotine pod.
One of the studies also showed Juul e-cigarettes were by far the
most popular of any brand used by high school and middle school
students, with nearly 60% of high schoolers and 54% of middle
schoolers saying Juul was their usual brand.
Juul Chief Executive K.C. Crosthwaite called the results of those
studies "unacceptable" in announcing the move.
"We must reset the vapor category in the U.S. and earn the trust of
society by working cooperatively with regulators, Attorneys General,
public health officials, and other stakeholders to combat underage
use," said Crosthwaite, who took the helm in September after serving
as a top executive at Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc, which has a
35% stake in Juul.
Over the last year Juul has scaled back the number of flavors it
offers to stave off mounting pressure from regulators over the
surging popularity of its products with teenagers.
The company said last year it would pull popular flavors such as
mango, cucumber and fruit from retail store shelves in the United
States, leaving only tobacco, mint and menthol flavors in
traditional retail outlets but still selling others online.
Last month Juul announced it would also stop selling fruit- and
dessert-flavored nicotine pods online in the United States.
The studies released this week suggest those efforts have not
reduced Juul's popularity among teenagers.
The percentage of high schoolers using e-cigarettes increased to
27.5% this year, up from 20.8% last year. Moreover, data from one of
the new studies suggest that mint and menthol flavors have taken the
place of fruit- and candy-flavored nicotine liquids this year, after
Juul restricted retail sales of flavors except mint, menthol and
tobacco last fall.
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Use of mint or menthol flavors increased among high school
e-cigarette users between 2018 and 2019, growing from 38.1% to 57.3%
this year, according to the analysis. Use of "fruit" or "candy,
dessert or other sweets," on the other hand, declined this year.
Juul said on Thursday it will stop selling mint nicotine pods online
in the United States immediately, and stop accepting new orders for
mint cartridges from retailers. Juul still sells mint and other
sweet flavors in international markets.
The move comes as the Trump administration is considering a ban on
all e-cigarette flavors except tobacco. President Donald Trump and
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced the plan in
September and said a final decision would be made "in the coming
weeks."
No final decision has been announced. After that announcement, Juul
CEO Kevin Burns stepped down and was replaced by Crosthwaite, who
said the company would refrain from lobbying the administration on
the proposed flavor ban.
Meredith Berkman, co-founder of Parents Against Vaping E-cigarettes,
said on Thursday that Juul's move was "too little, too late," adding
that she expects teenagers will simply flock to menthol-flavored
e-cigarettes if mint is removed from sale.
"If you really cared, you would include menthol," she said. "That's
where the kids will go. Everyone knows it."
(Reporting by Chris Kirkham in Los Angeles and Manojna Maddipatla in
Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Daniel Wallis)
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