Juul Spent Record $1.2 Million Lobbying as Regulators Stepped Up
(Bloomberg) -- Juul Labs Inc. spent a record $1.2 million on federal lobbying during the third quarter as the largest U.S. e-cigarette maker faced threats that many of its products would be banned following an increase in lung illnesses linked to vaping.
The company’s lobbying spending during the three months ending Sept. 30 more than doubled from $560,000 in the same period a year ago. Juul started lobbying in the second quarter of 2018 and has increased its spending each quarter.
Juul is coming under pressure amid anger from lawmakers, health officials and parents as cases of lung injury and death related to vaping mount. Even though none of those cases have been tied to Juul, the e-cigarette maker is now facing investigations into its advertising practices by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Federal Trade Commission, and Congress. It’s also drawn dozens of lawsuits, and reportedly a criminal probe by the Justice Department.
In September, Juul announced it would suspend all broadcast, print and digital advertising in the U.S., and refrain from lobbying the Trump administration on its guidance regarding proposed curbs on vaping products. Trump said last month that vaping had become an urgent public-health concern.
The company disclosed lobbying White House offices in the filings, which include a period before the self-imposed ban. It also lobbied the FDA, the Justice Department and Congress, including on issues related to “enforcement of illicit tobacco products” as well as “regulation of e-cigarettes and vaping products designed to improve the lives of adult smokers,” disclosures show.
Juul has pitched its vaping device as a way for adults to quit smoking, though the FDA said that the company also targeted students.
Last week, the company said it would suspend sales of most nicotine pod flavors nationwide in response to concerns that the sugary flavors were hooking teens. Juul controls 70% of vaping sales in the U.S., according to market-research firm IRI. The FDA has been moving to ratchet up oversight of flavored vaping products, especially with growing e-cigarette use by school-age children. Five million kids say they’ve vaped this year, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters last month, up from 3.6 million in 2018.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week they have identified 1,479 cases of vaping-related ailments and 33 deaths as of Oct. 15. While the company’s Juul e-cigarette hasn’t been linked to the injuries, which regulators associate with the use of black-market products containing THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, Juul has been criticized for propelling an explosion of youth vaping.
To contact the reporters on this story: Evan Sully in Washington at esully2@bloomberg.net;Ben Brody in Washington, D.C. at btenerellabr@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net, Mark Niquette
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