SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – School districts across the country are challenging Juul Labs for marketing their products to minors.
Some Bay Area school districts are now joining in.
On Monday, the districts announced that they filed litigation against Juul Labs for targeting minors with appealing advertisements and messages.
The districts who filed litigation include:
- San Francisco Unified School District
- Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District
- Cabrillo Unified School District
- San Mateo-Foster City School District
- Jefferson Union High School District
“We still do not know the extent of vaping’s health consequences for our kids, but we know the results are serious. Educators see the impact of Juul’s teen-focused marketing efforts firsthand every day. Our schools must hold Juul accountable for misleading the children we serve.”
– Dr. Kelly Bowers, Superintendent of Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District
Renne Public Law Group, who filed the lawsuit, released this statement:
“Big tobacco tried to hook our kids on cigarettes years ago, and now they’re at it again. Juul’s focused efforts to create a generation of vaping addicts with marketing that targets children is unacceptable. I’m proud to support the educators that sit on the front lines of this health crisis created by Juul. We are united in our commitment to the health of our children.”
– Louise Renne, co-founder of Renne Public Law Group
Juul Labs released this statement to KRON4 on Tuesday:
“We remain focused on resetting the vapor category in the U.S. and earning the trust of society by working cooperatively with attorneys general, regulators, public health officials, and other stakeholders to combat underage use and convert adult smokers from combustible cigarettes.
As part of that process, we recently stopped accepting orders for our Mint JUULpods in the U.S., suspended all broadcast, print, and digital product advertising in the U.S., are investing in scientific research to ensure the quality of our FDA Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) application and expanding our commitment to develop new technology to reduce youth use.
Our customer base is the world’s 1 billion adult smokers and we do not intend to attract underage users.To the extent these cases allege otherwise, they are without merit.”
– Juul Labs spokesperson