The government has been criticized for its “completely inappropriate” endorsement of an e-cigarette maker blamed for fueling an “epidemic” of minor vaping in the US.
Juul Labs was promoted in an official briefing circulated by the Department of Health and Social Care about the prime minister’s plan to close a loophole that allowed free samples to be given to children.
The press release – which includes quotes from Rishi Sunak, England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty and health minister Neil O’Brien – describes the company as a leader in the fight against young people who vaping, which said it “takes steps to ensure that its products do not appeal to and are not used by anyone under age, and encourages others in the sector to do the same”.
It also included a quote from Joe Murillo, a former tobacco executive and chief regulatory officer of Juul Labs, in which he praised the UK government’s policy and called for more to be done “to curb the use of minors in these products”. The briefing – which was sent to reporters before the policy was made public – appeared to directly result in positive media coverage for Juul, with Murillo’s quote being republished in four national newspapers.
But it failed to mention that the company is blamed more than any other for fueling an “epidemic” of youth vaping in the US, and in recent months has agreed to pay more than $1 bn to resolve claims that it illegally promotes its products. children.
In the latest settlement, in April, Juul agreed to pay $462m to settle lawsuits brought in six US states after it was accused of targeting teenagers with launch parties, giveaways in product and use of young models in social media ad campaigns. The company did not admit wrongdoing and said the deals were part of its commitment to address issues from the past.
Health experts and campaigners say the UK government’s promotion of Juul as a champion in tackling youth vaping is “absurd” and “inappropriate” and raises questions about potential influence behind the scenes. Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, said she was ‘”jaw-dropped” when she saw the “completely inappropriate” endorsement, which she said “gave the impression” that the company has been given “a seat at the table in determining how vapes are regulated”. “The government needs to make it clear that its policy on youth vaping will be determined by evidence, not industry interests,” he said.
Professor Gurch Randhawa, director of the Institute for Health Research at the University of Bedfordshire, said it was “a cause for concern that any company accused of fueling youth vaping through colorful packaging and variety which will be included in government policy announcements”.
“Although vaping companies say they don’t market to children, their products are currently fueling the current youth vaping epidemic in the UK,” he said.
The Department of Health and Social Care said it was “outlining bold action to crack down on youth vaping”, including setting up an enforcement team to arrest companies selling products for those under 18 years of age. “To support our ambition to be smoke-free by 2030, we are working closely with all stakeholders,” a spokesperson said. It did not say how Juul became involved in the news release, or why it decided to remove a reference to the company from a blog post published on its website.
Labour’s shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting, accused the Conservatives of “celebrating a company that plugs children’s vapes”. “This seriously questions the sincerity of Rishi Sunak about meaningful action against harmful vaping. Meanwhile a new generation of children is addicted to nicotine,” he said.
Juul Labs, which has offices in London and is headquartered in Washington DC, said it is “committed to supporting government efforts to provide alternative products to adult smokers while combating minor use of e – cigarettes”.
It added that it had “implemented a company-wide reset” to address minor vaping since new management took over in 2019 and that minor use of Juul products in US decreased by 95%. A spokesman for the company said: “We do not want anyone who is not a nicotine user, especially those under the age, to try Juul products – which exist only to switch adult smokers away from cigarettes. .We continue to take steps to ensure that our products do not attract and are not used by any minor, and support policies and regulatory measures designed to prevent minor use.
Research suggests that e-cigarette use among young people is relatively low but increasing. NHS figures for 2021 show that 9% of 11- to 15-year-olds have used e-cigarettes, up from 6% in 2018.
Charities are calling for stricter restrictions on the sale of e-cigarettes and on the use of packaging and flavors which they say make the products attractive to children. to remove references to the company.