The city of Denver, Colorado is suing the vape giant Juul, accusing the company of marketing their products to teens. Juul is in some major legal trouble right now, and Denver is not the only city that has filed a lawsuit against them. In the lawsuit against Juul, the city alleges that the controversial vaping company led to the extremely high rates of youth vaping, according to CPR News.
A new study found that one in five teens in Denver vape using an electronic cigarette. This is a very unsettling statistic for health officials. City attorney Kristin Bronson wants people to know that they take the issue of youth vaping incredibly seriously and will take drastic measures to bring a stop to it.
“We’re hoping to get the word out to our young people that vaping and e-cigarettes are not safe, they are not a healthy alternative, that there are serious health risks. They really need to stay away from these products. JUUL’s initial marketing was totally youth-oriented. Their marketing practices were deceptive about the potency of these pods, and nicotine addiction and kids.”
Greg Conley is the president of the American Vaping Association. He believes that this lawsuit on behalf of Denver and the others that have come before it won’t go very far. However, he did admit that Juul has made prior mistakes.
“JUUL absolutely made mistakes in their earliest days, but from reading the complaints filed in many of these lawsuits, the lawsuits appear to be frivolous and won’t survive very far into the litigation process,” he said.
We’ve dealt with this issue in my house. And if you think VAPING is old news… wait until you see what we found in one local school. TONIGHT at 6pm and 11pm. What was found.. what kids admit to us.. and the tricky ways they’re hiding vapes and Juul’s from us. @WLWT pic.twitter.com/g1HprLwDpN
— Sheree Paolello WLWT (@ShereeWLWT) November 4, 2019
The Juul is a small and slender vaping device, or electronic cigarette. It was initially thought to be intended to help adult, longtime smokers kick the habit by switching to a less dangerous alternative. However, the way the product was marketed and the sweet, fruity e-juice liquids that Juul offers appealed to young people. Before long, many teens — including kids as young as middle school students — were using the products and getting hooked on nicotine.
School officials are trying everything they can to keep these devices off school property. Some schools have even installed vaping sensors, as The Inquisitr previously reported. These sensors will immediately pick up on the particles released into the air when someone vapes. Sensors can even be connected to security cameras to catch the culprit.
In a further effort to cut down on youth vaping, flavored vaping products have been banned nationally.