By Jennifer Maloney
E-cigarette startup Juul Labs Inc. said it is shutting down its
Facebook and Instagram accounts and curbing its use of other social
media in the U.S., part of the company's response to the Food and
Drug Administration's call for changes to curb underage e-cigarette
use.
Sales of Juul's vaporizers and flavored nicotine liquids have
surged over the past year, fueled in part by the product's
popularity among teenagers and children. Its rapid growth was
helped by the San Francisco company's use of social media to
advertise its products as well as by user-generated posts that
glamorized Juul.
"There is no question that this user-generated social media
content is linked to the appeal of vaping to underage users," Juul
Labs CEO Kevin Burns wrote in a blog post Tuesday.
When Juul launched in 2015, the startup was able to use
marketing practices, including social media and billboard ads, that
are restricted for big tobacco companies. Advertising on social
media and other platforms pitched Juul as a cool lifestyle
accessory with images of people in their 20s and 30s.
In addition to curbing its social media activity, Juul plans to
stop selling nicotine liquids with flavors like mango, fruit and
creme at bricks-and-mortar stores. It will continue to sell all its
products on its website, which the company says has
age-verification technology. The Wall Street Journal earlier
reported on Juul's retail shift.
The moves come as the FDA prepares to announce sharp
restrictions on the sale of such products, part of its effort to
combat use of e-cigarettes by teens and children. The new rules
would be effective immediately.
In addition to shutting down its U.S. Facebook and Instagram
accounts, Mr. Burns said his company's presence on Twitter would be
limited to nonpromotional communications, and that Juul would use
YouTube for posting testimonials of former adult smokers who have
switched to its product.
Mr. Burns said he would also ask Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
and Snapchat to prohibit posts that promote underage use of
e-cigarettes. Facebook Inc. and Snap Inc. didn't immediately
respond to requests for comment. Twitter Inc. declined to
comment.
"Our intent was never to have youth use Juul," Mr. Burns, who
joined Juul about a year ago, wrote in Tuesday's blog post. "But
intent is not enough, the numbers are what matter, and the numbers
tell us underage use of e-cigarette products is a problem. We must
solve it."
Ana Homayoun, a school consultant and author of "Social Media
Wellness," said taking down social media accounts wouldn't stop the
proliferation of user-generated content about Juul, and that
policing posts would be difficult for social media platforms.
"It's a gray area," she said, noting that it's not always clear
if a person in a photo is a minor or whether an image is targeted
to young users or not.
Analysts say more than half of Juul's sales come from four
flavors: mango, fruit, cucumber and creme. The company said those
flavors, along with tobacco, mint and menthol, were introduced to
appeal to adult smokers, but Mr. Burns said the nontraditional
flavors had also become attractive to younger nonsmokers.
Juul Labs will monitor use of its products by young people in
other countries and determine its social media approach on a
country-by-country basis, according to a person familiar with the
matter. Health officials in the U.K., for example, have said that
existing regulations there have prevented uptake of Juul by
teens.
Before Tuesday's announcement, Juul sought to address concerns
about its U.S. marketing and underage use by strengthening
age-verification tools for purchases through its website and
changing its marketing to feature former smokers in their late 20s
or older.
While traditional cigarette makers such Altria Group Inc. and
British American Tobacco PLC also sell flavored e-cigarettes, Juul
Labs has leapfrogged them in the market. Juul commands more than
75% of the $2.7 billion U.S. e-cigarette retail market, according
to a Wells Fargo analysis of Nielsen data.
"While more must be achieved to fully regulate e-cigs like
actual cigarettes, Juul's effort is a good step in snuffing out
kid-friendly flavors," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, one of several U.S.
legislators who have pressured the company to change its
practices.
Juul, Altria and BAT's U.S. subsidiary, Reynolds American, now
all say they would support legislation raising the minimum age to
purchase any tobacco product to 21.
Reynolds has told the FDA it would stop using social media
influencers to promote its products. Marlboro maker Altria said it
doesn't currently use social media or influencers. Altria also has
voluntarily pulled from the market its pod-style e-cigarette
devices and several of its flavors.
The companies are responding to a request from FDA Commissioner
Scott Gottlieb to propose steps against surging youth use of
e-cigarettes. Dr. Gottlieb is expected as soon as this week to
announce an immediate ban on most e-cigarette flavors in stores
that don't have an area restricted to adults -- effectively
removing them from most convenience stores and gas stations. He is
also expected to propose a ban on traditional menthol cigarettes, a
move that would take years to enact.
Write to Jennifer Maloney at jennifer.maloney@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 13, 2018 16:40 ET (21:40 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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