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JUUL and Vaping: Rising Use & Rising Deaths

There are two very concerning trends in vaping — rising use among teens and rising injury and death according to the Center for Disease Control [CDC]. These two vaping related data points are pointing toward the front end of what may become an epidemic. As of December 10, 2019, the CDC has documented a total of 2,409 hospitalizations related to vaping and confirmed 52 vaping-related deaths.

student vaping graph

At the same time, the National Youth Tobacco survey reports that since 2016, the percentage of U.S. high school students using e-cigarettes has more than doubled from 11.3% to 27.5%.

This massive increase in use by teens tracks the rise in popularity of JUUL brand of e-cigarettes. JUUL started with very little market share in 2016, but they ramped up their marketing campaigns to target teens. By the end of 2018, they had grabbed over 42% of the e-cigarette market share.

JUUL growthThe increase in vaping use amongst teens is leading to an increase in hospitalizations and deaths. The question is: “what is the underlying cause”? According to Science News, federal health officials have identified a possible culprit: vitamin E acetate, which is added to vaping products as a thickening agent.

What is becoming very clear is that we are seeing a drastic increase of the number of young and otherwise healthy individuals being hospitalized across the country due to vaping.

“While of course, these lung injuries related to vaping are very serious, it really is just the tip of the iceberg,” says Susan Walley, a pediatrician at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine. “The millions of kids who are using e-cigarettes now… what’s going to happen to all those kids in 10 years?”

It is too early to tell what will happen to all these kids in 10 years, but the early data is clearly pointing to the beginning of an epidemic of serious health consequences related to the increasing use of these dangerous products.

These two data points regarding increasing use combined with increasing injury and death amongst JUUL users is a stark contrast against the marketing campaigns of JUUL, who have touted e-cigarettes as a safer alternative to regular tobacco cigarettes.

The newly formed Multidistrict Litigation against JUUL will be procedurally similar to the MDLs formed in the Municipal Opioid Litigation and the Roundup Cancer litigation that Smith & Johnson is currently involved in. Smith & Johnson is currently interviewing potential Michigan claimants for inclusion in this litigation re: JUUL e-cigarettes. If you have questions about this litigation and what rights you may have, please contact Attorney Tim Smith at (231) 946-0700 for a free consultation.

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FDA Takes JUUL to Task For False Claims of JUUL Being a Safer Alternative

On September 18th, the Food and Drug Administration reprimanded JUUL for their false marketing around e-cigarettes being a safer alternative to cigarettes. The FDA ordered JUUL to “stop making unproven claims for its products” and “upped its scrutiny of a number of key aspects of Juul’s business, telling the company to turn over documents on its marketing, educational programs and nicotine formula” – NBC News

As reported by Smith & Johnson Attorney Tim Smith in the Legal Examiner:

Researches from Penn State University College of Medicine found that JUUL users’ blood nicotine concentrations were “almost three times as high as most of the e-cigarette users we previously studied,” said study first author Jessica Yingst, a research project manager. The study found that JUUL users “had higher levels of nicotine dependence than more than 3,000 long-term users of other e-cigarettes, according to the study.”

Study co-author Jonathan Foulds, a professor of public health sciences, noted: “In previous studies, we found that e-cigarette users were less addicted than smokers. However, the high nicotine delivery of the product and the scores on this study suggest that Juul is probably as addictive as cigarettes.”

These findings are particularly problematic given JUUL’s targeted marketing to youth.

The September 18th FDA warning letter discusses JUUL’s problematic history of marketing to youth and “highlights an incident recounted by two New York high school students during a congressional hearing in July. The students said a representative of Juul was invited to address the school as part of an assembly on mental health and addiction issues. During the presentation, the students said the representative told them the company’s product was “totally safe.” The representative also showed students a Juul device and claimed the FDA “was about to come out and it was 99 percent safer than cigarettes.”” – NBC News

This reprimand from the FDA comes right on the heels of the first double lung transplant surgery on a 17 year old male here in Michigan. The doctor who performed the surgery stated that vaping was what destroyed the young man’s lungs and necessitated the transplant.

JUUL is now facing a series of lawsuits across the country as a direct result of their deceptive marketing and the dangerous side effects of their products which they intentionally hid from consumers.

The newly formed Multidistrict Litigation involving JUUL will be procedurally similar to the MDLs formed in the Municipal Opioid Litigation and the Roundup Cancer litigation that Smith & Johnson is currently involved in. Smith & Johnson is currently interviewing potential Michigan claimants for inclusion in this Federal MDL re: JUUL e-cigarettes. If you have questions about this litigation and what rights you may have, please contact Attorney Tim Smith at (231) 946-0700 for a free consultation.

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JUUL: The Evil We Haven’t Faced Before

The Henry Ford Hospital was recently the first to complete a double lung transplant as a result of a vaping induced lung injury.

As reported by Smith and Johnson Attorney Tim Smith in the Legal Examiner:

Dr. Hassan Nemeh, the Henry Ford Hospital surgeon who led the first double lung transplant on a teenager whose lungs were damaged by vaping, said that the damage to the teen patients lungs was unlike anything he had ever seen.

“What I saw in his lungs is like nothing I’ve seen before, and I’ve been doing lung transplants for 20 years,” Nemeh, the Surgical Director of Thoracic Organ Transplant at Henry Ford Hospital, said at a press conference Tuesday, according to the New York Times.

“This is an evil I haven’t faced before,” he added.

Dr. Nemeh said that the CT scans of the teens lungs before the surgery showed no sign of the lungs because they were devoid of air. He said the teens faced “imminent death” had he not receive the double lung transplant.

“This is a preventable tragedy,” Nemeh said, per a news release from the hospital. “And we have so much respect for this family for allowing us to share their pain to prevent the same from happening to others. The damage that these vapes do to people’s lungs is irreversible. Please think of that – and tell your children to think of that.”

The family said that their son went from a perfectly healthy 16 year old to waking up intubated with two new lungs. Their s

on was originally hospitalized on September 15 with what appeared to be pneumonia. His condition rapidly deteriorated and doctors had to intubate him a week later on September 12th. He was transferred to Children’s Hospital of Michigan and placed on a ECMO [Extracoporeal membrane oxygenation] device which provided support to his lungs. He condition continued to worsen and the double lung transplant was his only option.

“The lung damage due to vaping was so severe – and he was so close to death – that he immediately shot to the top of the transplant waiting list, which ultimately led to the successful transplant on Oct. 15, 2019,” Henry Ford Hospital said in its release.

Henry Ford Hospital, in their press release regarding the surgery, said that vaping has become an epidemic among youth in the United States. They referenced a recent survey of over 10,000 high school and middle school students showing that 28% of high school students and 11% of middle school students self-reported ongoing use of e-cigarettes. “We are just beginning to see the enormous health consequences jeopardizing the youth in our country.”

Henry Ford Hospital provided resources in that same press release for people addicted to vaping or families with children who vape. Resources can be found here.

JUUL hid the dangers of these e-cigarettes from the public and is now facing a series of lawsuits filed across the country.

The newly formed Multidistrict Litigation involving JUUL will be procedurally similar to the MDLs formed in the Municipal Opioid Litigation and the Roundup Cancer litigation that Smith & Johnson is currently involved in. Smith & Johnson is currently interviewing potential Michigan claimants for inclusion in this Federal MDL re: JUUL e-cigarettes. If you have questions about this litigation and what rights you may have, please contact Attorney Tim Smith at (231) 946-0700 for a free consultation.

 

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Teen Vaping and JUUL’s Market Share Continue to Increase

Even with all the news coverage about the health risks associated with vaping, in just three short years, the number of teens who reported vaping nicotine in the past month has more than doubled. The Journal of the American Medical Association on 11/5/19 reported that 28% of high schoolers and 11% of middle schoolers reported vaping in the last month.

Read Smith & Johnson Attorney Tim Smith’s write up about the issue in the Legal Examiner:

Teen nicotine vaping has become so prevalent in recent years that the Food and Drug Administration has called it an “epidemic.” An estimated 5.3 million teens use e-cigarettes, according to the study.

In an effort to lower the rates of teen vaping, the FDA is considering banning most flavors. The e-cigarette giant JUUL, who currently holds 59% of the market share, stopped selling some of its flavors just last month. But, it continues to sell tobacco, menthol and mint flavors.

“For young people, this is of particular concern,” the study’s authors wrote, “because it could promote … nicotine dependence, making it easier to initiate and proceed to regular e-cigarette use or transition to cigarette or other combustible tobacco product use.” – NPR

Increasing teen use is causing increasing concern for their health. Dr. John Carl, MD, a pulmonologist at the Cleveland Clinic explains:

“We know a lot of the short-term effects [on the lungs],” Dr. Carl says, explaining that vaping increases inflammation in the lungs. Vaping can also paralyze cilia, the “hair-like” projections in the airways of the lungs that remove microbes and debris, says Dr. Carl. When those cilia become paralyzed, they are rendered unable to do their job protecting the lungs, and this increases your risk of infection, like pneumonia. (Both lipoid pneumonia, a lung infection caused by the presence of lipids or fats in the lungs; and chemical pneumonia, a lung infection caused by inhalation of chemicals, have been linked to vaping.)

JUUL has know about these health concerns for years but has done little to educate their users as to the risks. As deaths and serious injuries to users respiratory systems continue to increase, so have the number of lawsuits filed against JUUL for its misleading marketing and failure to warn. On November 6th, Montgomery County Pennsylvania district attorney Kevin Steele filed a lawsuit against JUUL alleging illegal, predatory business practices that target teens.

“This lawsuit is necessary to protect the health and well-being of Montgomery County residents, most importantly, impressionable and vulnerable minors who have been targeted by JUUL, turning them into nicotine addicts to keep them coming back for the company’s own monetary gain,” Steele said in a statement. “We intend to hold the defendants accountable for their misconduct that has unquestionably created and perpetuated a widespread public health crisis with devastating consequences. We seek to put a halt to JUUL’s egregious sales and marketing tactics, the illegal sales to minors by retailers in our county and demand they remediate the harm their conduct has caused in our communities.” – CBS

Earlier this month, Pennsylvania health officials confirmed one person died in the state related to vaping. The state says there are nine confirmed and 12 probable cases of vaping-related lung illnesses and are investigating 63 additional cases. In addition to these state court cases, we are seeing a rise in Federal cases as well.

The newly formed Multidistrict Litigation involving JUUL will be procedurally similar to the MDLs formed in the Municipal Opioid Litigation and the Roundup Cancer litigation that Smith & Johnson is currently involved in. Smith & Johnson is currently interviewing potential Michigan claimants for inclusion in this Federal MDL re: JUUL e-cigarettes. If you have questions about this litigation and what rights you may have, please contact Attorney Tim Smith at (231) 946-0700 for a free consultation.

Authored by Attorney Tim Smith

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How JUUL Hooked Our Teenagers

JUUL intentionally marketed e-cigarettes to teenagers knowing that they were more potent than the average cigarette.

JUUL’s sales force encouraged retailers to stock JUUL e-cigarettes by sharing a chart that showed with 5 minutes, JUUL could deliver 35% more nicotine into the bloodstream than the venerable Pall Mall cigarette.

From Legal Examiner:

“JUUL’s breakthrough “nicotine salts” formula for vaping liquid, now the industry standard, set off an epidemic of e-cigarette use by U.S. Teenagers. Now Investigators want to know if the company targeted young people as customers.” – Reuters

One thing is clear, JUUL executives knew teens were flocking to its breakthrough e-cigarette shortly after it went on sale in 2015. A former JUUL manager admits that its nicotine blend was so potent, engineers devised a kill switch to limit the dosage – but the idea was shelved.

Vincent Latronica headed up sales and distribution for JUUL on the U.S. East Coast from 2014-16. He said the company’s sales force found it difficult to convince reluctant retailers to give them shelf space. That is, until they began showing retailers charts depicting charts on how efficiently JUUL delivered nicotine into the bloodstream. It became a central selling point for its sales force, and, according to Latronica, “everyone wanted it”. The chart showed that within 5 minutes, JUUL could deliver 35% more nicotine into the bloodstream than the venerable Pall Mall cigarette.

In the early years of JUUL, they were seeing 500% annual growth in teen use. Some insiders in the company were uncomfortable with the early signs of teen use throughout their markets. “Company leaders clearly understood the long-term benefit of young users on the bottom line. It was well known that young customers were the most profitable segment in the history of the tobacco industry because research shows that nicotine user who start as teenagers are the most likely to become lifelong addicts”.

In the Spring of 2018, just days before the Food and Drug Administration were to announce a crackdown on youth access to and use of JUUL, JUUL announced a “comprehensive strategy” to curb youth sales. They said, “they were caught off guard” by teenage addiction rates to their product.

That narrative is undermined by two prominent tobacco researchers who told Reuters that they explicitly warned Juul’s founders and a top company scientist about the potential for youth e-cigarette abuse. Neal Benowitz at University of California-San Francisco, said he told Gal Cohen, the company’s director of scientific affairs, that widespread teen use could wreck the company’s business.

“Look, the one thing you have to do is make sure that this doesn’t get into the hands of young people,” Benowitz recalled telling Cohen about a year after the product launch. “If it spreads among kids, this product could be dead.” (Reuters)

What is undeniably clear today is that JUUL tore a page out of the Big Tobacco playbook as it marketed to teens and, as a result, their market share in the U.S. E-cigarette market skyrocketed from just above zero in 2016 to 42.3% in just 24 months.

Explosive growth on the backs of the health of our nation’s teens is not a business plan that should be tolerated.

The newly formed Multidistrict Litigation involving JUUL will be procedurally similar to the MDLs formed in the Municipal Opioid Litigation and the Roundup Cancer litigation that Smith & Johnson is currently involved in. Smith & Johnson is currently interviewing potential Michigan claimants for inclusion in this Federal MDL re: JUUL e-cigarettes. If you have questions about this litigation and what rights you may have, please contact Attorney Tim Smith at (231) 946-0700 for a free consultation.

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JUUL Accused Of Knowingly Shipping Over 1,000,000 Contaminated Pods

JUUL knowingly shipped over one million contaminated pods, as claimed by former JUUL Senior Vice President Siddarth Breja. Breja claims he was fired for raising concerns over the issue.

As reported by Legal Examiner:

Breja filed suit over the incident and in his pleadings alleged that JUUL CEO Kevin Burns responded to Breja’s concerns about the contaminated pods saying, “Half our customers are drunk and vaping like mo-fo’s, who the f*** is going to notice the quality of our pods?”.

From Tech Crunch:

Breja alleges that when he complained about Juul’s refusal to issue a product recall or health and safety notice, Danaher [JUUL CFO] said doing so would cost the company billions of dollars in lost sales, hurting its then-$38 billion valuation. About a week later, Breja says the company fired him, telling him that it was because he had misrepresented himself as former chief financial officer at Uber. In the lawsuit, Breja says the claim was “preposterous,” and that he had accurately represented his former position as a chief financial officer of a division at Uber.

The timing of Breja’s lawsuit coincides with JUUL announcing mass layoffs of 10-15% of it’s workforce and the departure of four executives. As lawsuits continue to mount against JUUL arising out of the death and serious injuries to their customers, more and more facts are coming to light regarding the dangers of vaping. The Center for Disease Control announced on October 17th that 33 people have died from vaping related lung illnesses as the nationwide outbreak continues to grow (Live Science).

The newly formed Multidistrict Litigation involving JUUL will be procedurally similar to the MDLs formed in the Municipal Opioid Litigation and the Roundup Cancer litigation that Smith & Johnson is currently involved in. Smith & Johnson is currently interviewing potential Michigan claimants for inclusion in this Federal MDL re: JUUL e-cigarettes. If you have questions about this litigation and what rights you may have, please contact Attorney Tim Smith at (231) 946-0700 for a free consultation.

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Vaping Related Death Reported in Michigan

The first vaping related death has been reported in Michigan. Michigan Health and Human Services announced the death of an adult male due to vaping related lung injury on Oct. 2.

In the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. David C. Christiani, M.D. writes of vaping related deaths and notes that “there is clearly an epidemic that begs for an urgent response.” Between statewide bans of vaping and the recently formed multidistrict litigation we are beginning to see such a response.

Here at Smith & Johnson we are currently interviewing potential Michigan claimants for inclusion in the recently formed multidistrict litigation re: JUUL e-cigarette.

From the Legal Examiner:

As the New York Times reports: “Juul Labs, the dominant e-cigarette company, illegally marketed its vaping products as a less harmful alternative to traditional cigarettes, the Food and Drug Administration said on Monday, casting a deepening shadow over the safety of e-cigarette devices.”

As recently as September, the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning letter, to JUUL. In that warning letter, the FDA stated that JUUL violated federal regulations by touting it’s vaping products as being safer than traditional tobacco products.

It’s becoming clear that vaping is probably a much more dangerous alternative to traditional tobacco products. Dr. Brandon Larson, a surgical pathologist at Mayo Clinic recently reviewed lung biopsies from 17 patients, all of whom had vaped. He confirmed direct chemical injury to the lungs “similar to what one might see with exposure to toxic chemical fumes, poisonous gases and toxic agents”.

This newly formed Multidistrict Litigation involving JUUL will be procedurally similar to the MDLs formed in the Municipal Opioid Litigation and the Roundup Cancer litigation that Smith & Johnson is currently involved in. Smith & Johnson is currently interviewing potential Michigan claimants for inclusion in this Federal MDL re: JUUL e-cigarettes. If you have questions about this litigation and what rights you may have, please contact Attorney Tim Smith at 231.946.0700 for a free consultation.

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Multidistrict Litigation formed in JUUL/e-cigarette Lawsuits

October 2th marked the beginning of multidistrict litigation for JUUL/e-cigarette lawsuits.

As Smith & Johnson Attorney Tim Smith writes in the Legal Examiner:

The Federal Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation [MDL] entered an order yesterday creating a MDL and centralizing all federal cases against JUUL Labs, Inc into the courtroom of U.S. District Judge William Orrick of the Northern District of California. On October 2nd, the U. S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation heard oral argument from the attorneys involved in over 50 current Federal lawsuits filed against JUUL Labs, Inc. [JLI] and granted the motion to form the MDL.

The lawsuits allege JUUL has marketed it’s JUUL nicotine delivery products in a manner designed to attract minors, that JUUL’s marketing misrepresents or omits that JUUL products are more potent and addictive than cigarettes, that JUUL products are defective and unreasonably dangerous due to their attractiveness to minors and that JUUL promotes nicotine addiction.

This newly formed Multidistrict Litigation involving JUUL will be procedurally similar to the MDLs formed in the Municipal Opioid Litigation and the Roundup Cancer litigation that Smith & Johnson is currently involved in. Smith & Johnson is currently interviewing potential Michigan claimants for inclusion in this Federal MDL re: JUUL e-cigarettes. If you have questions about this litigation and what rights youmay have, please contact Attorney Tim Smith at 231.946.0700 for a free consultation.

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