Juul Ends Mint Sales
MORGANTOWN, WV – 24 AUGUST 2018: Juul e-cigarette or nicotine dispenser on top of JUULpods on slate
Juul Labs will stop selling mint-flavored pods, reports The New York Times. The company will continue selling its menthol and tobacco-flavored pods.
Juul had already stopped selling an array of fruit- and dessert-flavored pods, like mango and creme brulee, to retailers, and recently stopped selling them online as well.
Mint-flavored pods reportedly make up about 70 percent of Juul’s sales.
The move precedes an anticipated federal ban on e-cigarette flavors, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initially said would include mint and menthol flavors.
However, intense lobbying by the vaping and tobacco industries against a menthol ban has heightened speculation that menthol would be exempt from any prohibitions against flavors.
Juul has been blamed for a spike in U.S. teenage vaping.
Earlier this week, two major surveys showing another year-over-year increase in underage e-cigarette use, and the rising popularity of mint-flavored nicotine pods as other youth-friendly flavors were pulled from retail shelves.
In addition, U.S. healthcare providers have been grappling with an outbreak of vaping-related lung injuries.
While most victims reported vaping THC, others reported using nicotine products, leaving researchers to suggest there may be more than one culprit behind the respiratory illnesses.
The Federal Trade Commission and the FDA are investigating Juul’s marketing practices.
