Juul has already come under scrutiny for its marketing efforts, including its use of social media influencers to promote its vaping devices, which have become extremely popular among teens.
“Without commenting on any specific investigation, we fully cooperate and are transparent with any government agency or regulator who have interest in our category,” a Juul spokesman said.
The company “never marketed to youth” but has changed its advertising to feature adult smokers aged 35 and above, and has stopped promoting on social media, the spokesman added.
The group is seeking refunds for purchases of Juul products and an injunction to prevent the company from continuing to market to children and non-smokers.
The filing said that while Juul had not turned over documents about its marketing practices to the lawyers, it “has presumably already gathered and produced many of these documents in response to investigatory demands from the FDA, (REDACTED), and Attorneys General for California, Massachusetts, and Washington, as well as the Los Angeles District Attorney.”
FTC investigators are examining Juul’s involvement in deceptive marketing, including by targeting minors or using influencers, and is also determining whether to seek monetary damages, according to the Wall Street Journal report.
Shares of Philip Morris International Inc (PM.N), which is in talks to merge with Altria, fell 2.7%.
Separately on Thursday, Juul said it was giving over $100 million of incentives to retailers to install new age-verification systems at stores, part of efforts to curb sales of e-cigarettes to minors.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-juul-probe/ftc-probes-marketing-practices-of-e-cigarette-maker-juul-source-idUSKCN1VJ26B
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