SAN FRANCISCO -- Building on its existing youth-prevention and education programs, vaping manufacturer Juul Labs announced it will actively support state and federal initiatives to raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 21 as part of an initial $30 million investment over the next three years dedicated to independent research, youth and parent education, and community engagement efforts, the company said.
The statement came a day after Scott Gottlieb, commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Silver Spring, Md., announced a new initiative to crack down on underage youth obtaining and using electronic cigarettes—an announcement that specifically named Juul and its products.
In its statement, Juul said it will work with the FDA, members of Congress and state and local officials on the issue.
“Our company’s mission is to eliminate cigarettes and help the more than 1 billion smokers worldwide switch to a better alternative,” said Kevin Burns, CEO for Juul Labs, San Francisco. “We are already seeing success in our efforts to enable adult smokers to transition away from cigarettes and believe our products have the potential over the long term to contribute meaningfully to public health in the U.S. and around the world. At the same time, we are committed to deterring young people, as well as adults who do not currently smoke, from using our products.”
Here are three elements of the effort ...
Juul Labs’ support for state and federal efforts to raise the minimum age of purchase for Juul and other vapor products to 21 and older follows what the company said in August 2017—that it had raised the minimum age of purchase on its own e-commerce site to 21 and older even though the legal age of purchase in many states remains 18.
Juul said it will work with Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller and a group of public officials and tobacco-control individuals he will assemble to continue strengthening existing initiatives and new efforts to keep Juul out of the hands of young people. In addition, Miller and the same group will work with Juul Labs to develop a transparent and effective framework for independent research focused on the scientific and societal implications of vapor products, the company said.
Additional programs to be launched or expanded in 2018 include:
Get today’s need-to-know convenience industry intelligence. Sign up to receive texts from CSP on news and insights that matter to your brand.
CSP’s Top 202 details the largest chains in the convenience-store industry and the biggest M&A stories of the past year. Welcome to a deep dive into the c-store landscape.
Category sales performance in Beverages, Candy, General Merchandise, Packaged Food/Foodservice and Snacks.
The industry’s largest distributors by sales volume
Corporate retail news affecting the convenience-store industry
The latest information on products and trends in the convenience-store and foodservice industries.
Peek inside new convenience stores to uncover the best in retail store design across North America.