Healey Launches Investigation Into E-Cigarette Maker Juul

healey DSC_9275.jpg — Massachusetts District Attorney Maura Healey holds up a "Juul" vape pen during a press conference about the DA's office investigation into the marketing practices of vape makers.

Bianca Vázquez Toness is the Managing Editor and Correspondent for K-12 Education at WGBH Radio. She has covered everything from technology to immigration to presidential elections, but keeps coming back to stories about kids and schools. She's worked for Minnesota Public Radio, WBUR and Bloomberg News. She was a 2016-2017 Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT.

July 24, 2018

Attorney General Maura Healey is gearing up to take on the e-cigarette industry and what it perceives as marketing to young people.

Healey has subpoenaed Juul Labs, Inc., one of the country's most popular makers of e-cigarettes.

The San Francisco-based company makes the popular Juul vaporizer, commonly referred to as a "vape pen." It looks like a USB flash drive and heats flavored liquid into an inhalable vapor — that liquid contains as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes. The company bills itself as an alternative to smoking for adults trying to quit.

But Healey says the company has targeted their product at young people by featuring young people in an early ad campaign, and by making candy-like flavors like mango and creme brûlée. Her office is seeking documents to see whether Juul Labs is violating Massachusetts consumer protection laws and e-cigarette regulations.

"This isn't about getting adults to stop smoking cigarettes. This is about getting kids to start vaping. That's what these companies are up to," Healey said at a press conference Tuesday.

Nearly 1 in 3 high school seniors have vaped, according to a recent national survey. High schools across the country have reported kids “juuling” in the bathrooms or even in class.

Juul Labs says it has never marketed to anyone "underage."

"We welcome the opportunity to work with the Massachusetts Attorney General because, we too, are committed to preventing underage use of JUUL. We utilize stringent online tools to block attempts by those under the age of 21 from purchasing our products, including unique ID match and age verification technology," said Matt David, chief communications officer at Juul Labs, in a statement. "We want to partner and engage with policymakers, lawmakers, educators and parents to combat underage use."