Altria’s Stock Takes A Hit As Juul Faces Further Scrutiny
Altria, one of the nation’s largest tobacco producers, is taking a hit in stocks since Juul Labs came under intense scrutiny. Altria infamously invested $12.8 billion in the controversial vaping company Juul Labs in 2018. Since then, their investment has become far less than its original value, according to Barron’s.
Altria documented their Juul Lab’s investment as $4.5 billion in October of 2019, which is a third of its original value. What is the cause of this drastic difference? The seemingly constant new lawsuits against the vape giant are playing a major role. There has been an increasing number of lawsuits against Juul regarding the health threat against young people their products allegedly present. The backlash that Juul has faced has been felt nearly just as hard by Altria, whose stock has declined by a whopping 23 percent in the past year, the most rapid decline it has experienced in recent history.
If current projections are correct, Altria will only continue to experience disappointing stock calculations in 2020, as pressure continues to mount against them and against Juul Labs. In fact, Juul Labs as a brand could even be wiped out entirely in the coming years due to the increased backlash the company is experiencing from the Food and Drug Administration.
On Friday Juul took a significantly hard hit after the United States House of Representatives voted in support of a bill originally presented by President Donald Trump that will ban flavored vaping products and tobacco products. As a result, Juul will miss out on the increase of revenue they once enjoyed through their very popular mint and fruit-flavored cartridges. Their methanol flavor has been marked as the only exemption, as The Inquisitr previously reported.
This bill hasn’t been received well from everyone. Some Democrats have slammed the Trump Administration for not banning all vaping products altogether.
“A so-called flavor ban that exempts menthol and vape shops is no ban at all. Unfortunately, the Trump administration caved to industry lobbying pressure and decided to prioritize politics over people’s health,” said New Jersey Democrat Representative Frank Pallone Jr.
Nevertheless, others think these restrictions are necessary if the United States ever wants to get the issue of underage vaping under control.
“This critical legislation will protect young people, especially young people of color, from a lifetime of nicotine addiction. Simply put, prohibiting menthol and other flavored tobacco products will save lives,” said Representative Robin Kelly, who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust.
