Mint pods reportedly make up 70% of Juul’s U.S. sales.
(Updated: 3:23 p.m. EST, 11/7/2019)
Topline: Juul stopped sales of its mint nicotine pods Thursday after a National Youth Tobacco survey showed the number of high school students vaping has grown to one in four, while a separate study indicated mint was the number one flavor for that age group.
- “These results are unacceptable and that is why we must reset the vapor category in the U.S. and earn the trust of society,” said chief executive K.C. Crosthwaite in a press release.
- The mint pods make up 70% of Juul’s U.S. sales, according to CNBC, and while they’ll be withdrawn, Juul’s classic tobacco, Virginia tobacco and menthol pods will remain on the market.
- Other studies published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association found mint was the most popular flavor among high school students.
- Pulling the mint pods from store shelves followed a week after a former Juul SVP filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the company, with the additional claim that it refused to recall one million contaminated pods.
- The lawsuit also alleges that after Juul stopped selling its fruit and candy-flavored pods, it “did nothing more than to increase the demand for mint-flavored pods.”
- The Trump administration is separately expected to announce a policy on e-cigarettes exempting menthol and tobacco flavors from any ban, but it’s unclear when that will take place.
Big number: Altria said Thursday it’s taking a $4.5 billion write down on its investment in Juul. It invested $12.8 billion in Juul for a 35% stake in 2018.
Key background: Juul has been caught in the middle of public health scares over vaping. Over 2,000 people have been sickened with vaping-related illness, while nearly 40 people have died from it, according to the Centers for Disease Control. A number of the cases have been linked with vaping THC, the psychoactive chemical in cannabis. Several states, including New York, Michigan, Oregon and Massachusetts have banned e-cigarettes flavors, including those popularized by Juul, to tackle surging use by teenagers and nicotine addiction.
Tangent: Juul said October 28 it would cut 500 jobs by the end of the year, considered by executives as a “necessary reset” following the onslaught of regulatory and legal challenges it faces.
