Washington state sues Juul

Washington state sued a major vape company Wednesday, arguing that it has targeted youth through its marketing.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson says Juul not only aimed its vaping products at youth, it has downplayed the presence of high levels of addictive nicotine in its pods.

“Their whole corporate effort to market to young people, it wasn’t just unlawful, it’s outrageous. And caused an awful lot of harm in getting young people addicted to nicotine and that’s not OK,” Ferguson said.

Juul is the archetypal e-cigarette. It's about the size of a USB flash drive and easily evades detection by school staff and parents. One pod or cartridge can deliver 200 nicotine-containing puffs.

The state says Juul ad campaigns featured young social media influencers and attracted young people with flavors like cool cucumber. It also says Juul did not disclose that its products contained nicotine until 2018.

It’s estimated that one in five Washington teens in the state now vape.

The suit was filed in King County Superior court Wednesday.

Juul said it would respond to Washington state's legal complaint through the court system.

Austin Finan, Juul's director of communications added: “We will continue to reset the vapor category in the U.S. and seek to earn the trust of society by working cooperatively with attorneys general, legislators, regulators, public health officials, and other stakeholders to combat underage use and transition adult smokers from combustible cigarettes."

Juul said it had reduced its product portfolio and halted television, print, and digital advertising and was marshalling "comprehensive scientific evidence to support the harm reduction potential of its products."