E-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. and Philip Morris USA Inc. were sued for illegally marketing nicotine-delivery devices to minors and deceiving consumers about the risks of vaping.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a 19-year-old, Christian Foss, who says he became addicted to nicotine and suffered worsening asthma symptoms after he began using Juul’s device at 16, and seeks to represent all Illinois minors who used it. It alleges that Juul and Philip Morris violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, adopting the tobacco industry’s past use of catchy ad campaigns aimed at children. The Justice Department invoked RICO to sue the industry two decades ago.
“Mimicking Big Tobacco’s past marketing practices, defendants prey on youth for financial gain,” according to the lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in Chicago.
Philip Morris is a unit of Altria Group Inc., which is also named as a defendant and which recently bought a 35% stake in Juul for $12.8 billion.
Juul didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the lawsuit.
One of Silicon Valley’s most valuable privately held companies, Juul is facing increased pressure over its sleek vape pen’s popularity with underage users. It has tried to crack down on teen use, including improving its online age-verification process, deleting social media posts glamorizing vaping, and stopping the sale of some fruit- and dessert-flavored products in retail stores.
On its website Juul says it is “committed to improving the lives of the world’s one billion adult smokers by eliminating cigarettes,” that “we don’t want anyone who doesn’t smoke, or already use nicotine, to use Juul products” and “certainly don’t want youth using the product.”
The U.S. Surgeon General has called vaping an “epidemic.” The Food and Drug Administration has been investigating the safety of e-cigarettes and Juul’s marketing practices. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday it is looking into a cluster of 94 possible cases of severe lung illness associated with vaping in 14 states between June 28 and Aug. 15, and is consulting with health departments in Illinois, Wisconsin, California, Indiana and Minnesota