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California e-cigarette facing lawsuits

A California e-cigarette maker is under fire for its popularity among young people. Parents, public health advocates, politicians and the Food and Drug Administration have all weighed in on Juul Labs and its rechargeable vaping device and nicotine pods. The company’s pods contain nicotine and come in flavors such as mango, crème brulee, fruit medley and “cool cucumber” – flavors that lure young people into giving the Juul devices a try, critics complain.

The complaints have taken a legal twist, however, as several consumers have filed lawsuits against the California business, alleging that the company’s marketing is deceptive. Juul’s pods contain more nicotine than cigarettes, the suits claim.

Both lawsuits seek monetary damages and restrictions on Juul’s marketing.

In one case, filed earlier this year, two users say that they began using Juul devices last year. The first user says he bought Juul to help him quit smoking cigarettes, but according to the lawsuit, “the intense dosage of nicotine salts delivered by the Juul products resulted in an increased nicotine addiction, and an increased consumption of nicotine by Colgate.”

The other user in that suit says she has become addicted to the nicotine in the products and now consumes several pods per week. (Each pod is said to contain enough for about 200 hits.)

In the second suit, a user said he also began using Juul to help him quit smoking, but says the pods have made his nicotine addiction worse.

We do not know what the outcome of these lawsuits will be, but we do know that businesses facing similar legal claims require skilled business law attorneys experienced in crafting favorable resolutions in difficult disputes.