Philly Suing JUUL For 'Fostering Youth E-Cigarette Epidemic'

PHILADELPHIA — An e-cigarette company is being sued by the city of Philadelphia for "cultivating and fostering an e-cigarette epidemic among youth in Philadelphia," according to officials.

The city Wednesday announced it filed a lawsuit against JUUL Labs, Inc.

The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief and abatement remedies to fight what officials say is an :e-cigarette epidemic."

According to officials, the "epidemic" has severely impacted the City and its youth.

Additionally, the city is seeking compensatory damages to provide relief from financial losses as a result of the "epidemic."

The lawsuit was filed in State Court in California, the home of JUUL Labs, Inc.

According to the city, JUUL controls more than 70 percent of the e-cigarette market.

Reports found that in 2018, 4.9 million middle and high school students used tobacco products, with 3.6 million of those students using e-cigarettes. From 2017 to 2018, youth e-cigarette users increased by 1.5 million.

That growth is largely based on JUUL’s market strategy, which officials allege is to target school-age children to ensure the continual growth of their consumer base.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse found that the 2018 spike in nicotine vaping was the largest for any substance recorded in 44 years. The city claims JUUL’s marketing and product designs not only create an addiction crisis among youth consumers, but also a widespread burden on local governments like the city of Philadelphia.

The City of Philadelphia is represented by Litigation Chair, Diana Cortes, Chief Deputy City Solicitor Eleanor Ewing, and Deputy City Solicitor Danielle Walsh, and by outside counsel Jerry DeSiderato of the Philadelphia-based law firm Dilworth Paxson LLP and John P. Fiske, Jason Julius, and Torri Sherlin of the national law firm of Baron & Budd, P.C.