Vape-maker Juul keeps advertising in UK despite pulling US campaign after health scare
Vape pen maker Juul will continue to advertise in the UK despite pulling all it promotion from the US market, it has confirmed.
The brand yesterday decided to end all broadcast, print and digital advertising in the US, but will continue in the rest of the world.
Read more: US vaping deaths hit growth at Imperial Brands
“The advertising change applies to the US only,” a spokesperson confirmed to City PM
The decision came after the US Food and Drug Administration this month warned Juul over unproven claims that its vape pens are less harmful than traditional cigarettes.
The company yesterday parted ways with chief executive Kevin Burns, who joined in 2017. It promised to combat surging youth vaping and said it would suspend advertising in the US.
It comes as e-cigarette companies face increased scrutiny after around a dozen deaths in the US were linked to the use of vaping products.
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump called vaping “a new problem”. Around 450 cases of vape-related lung illnesses have been identified in the country.
“Vaping has become a very big business … in a short period of time,” Trump said. “But we can’t allow people to get sick, and we can’t have our youth get so affected.”
Experts and smokers had originally hoped that vaping could be a healthier alternative to smoking tobacco. However these developments have dented the market.
Imperial Brands, which makes vape pen Blu, today announced that a slowdown in the US market after the deaths will hit its revenues.
Juul has faced criticism in the US for its sweet fruity flavours which critics say appeal to young people. In November last year the company said it was pulling its pods that are not mint, menthol or tobacco flavoured.
Even so, a month later tobacco giant Altria took a 35 per cent stake in the world’s most successful vaping startup for $12.8bn (£10.4bn). The deal valued Juul, then only 12 years old, at $38bn.
This month the Ameriacan Medical Association recommended that people stop using e-cigarettes until the cause of the illness could be understood.