In September 2019, the Wall Street Journal reported that the FDA had opened a criminal investigation into JUUL Labs to determine whether the company used deceptive advertising and targeted minors.
JUUL CEO Kevin Burns resigned in September 2019 after apologizing for the teen vaping epidemic in the United States.
In October 2019, a total of 40 e-cigarette lawsuits filed against JUUL Labs were combined in a mass litigation in a San Francisco federal court. The lawsuits claim the company marketed nicotine products to minors and JUUL devices led to serious health problems. Lawyers expect people to file more JUUL lawsuits in the litigation as time passes.
JUUL and other e-cigarette lawsuits claim vaping led to seizures, serious lung injuries or disease and strokes. Many vaping lawsuits claim that high nicotine levels in e-cig fluids or JUUL pods led to e-cig addiction, possibly worsening the health dangers for people who have used JUUL and other electronic cigarettes.
The number of e-cigarette lawsuits has been growing alongside rapidly increased e-cigarette use among teens and young people. Many e-cig lawsuits target JUUL Labs Inc., which accounts for about 75 percent of the e-cigarettes sold in the United States.
The U.S. Surgeon General has said there is an “e-cigarette epidemic among youth.” Most e-cig lawsuits have been filed by young adults or parents of underage children who were unaware of the side effects of vaping.
