JUUL Labs has maintained that it never intentionally marketed its products to young people. However, a new lawsuit filed in February by the Massachusetts attorney general accuses the e-cigarette company of doing just that. It claims JUUL knowingly advertised its products on websites geared towards kids, intentionally created a marketing campaign that appealed to young people, and shipped its products directly to underage consumers.
According to the lawsuit, JUUL Labs paid a company to place ads on a staggering number of youth-oriented websites from June 2015 through the beginning of 2016. The list of websites includes popular entertainment destinations such as Nickelodeon, the Cartoon Network, and Seventeen magazine.
The list also includes:
- Educational sites designed for children
- Gaming sites geared to young girls
- Sites for high school students researching colleges
To make matters worse, it seems the ad content was intentionally designed to appeal to a younger audience. The lawsuit states that the vaping giant rejected an early marketing proposal aimed at an adult audience. Instead, it chose to feature young, attractive models. Many experts have compared JUUL’s marketing campaign to the imagery cigarette companies used to appeal to young people in the 1950s.
JUUL is no stranger to lawsuits regarding its marketing practices. Many states have sued the company for circumventing federal law banning cigarette advertising to children in order to target a young and impressionable audience. JUUL eventually took steps to reduce its appeal to minors, but it had already secured their favor and built its empire. Today, we face a youth-vaping epidemic with severe health consequences.
On top of offering a window into JUUL’s marketing tactics, the lawsuit goes on to claim that the company knowingly shipped e-cigarettes to underage customers who ordered directly from JUUL online. Many of these customers used student email addresses at high schools to create their accounts.
Contact Our Austin JUUL Lawyers Today
If you or your child has sustained an injury or illness from using a JUUL vaping device, we will fight to hold the company accountable and get you the compensation you deserve. Our attorneys have the skill and resources to achieve a favorable outcome in your JUUL and vaping lawsuit.
Call 512-499-8900 today to schedule a consultation. The lawyers at Shaw Cowart, LLP serve Austin and nearby areas of Texas.