EUGENE, Ore. (CMG) – A University of Oregon student is suing Juul Labs, Inc. in a class action lawsuit, alleging that the company was negligent in marketing its product to young adults and that he suffered a seizure after using the popular e-cigarette. 

Kewmarse Imani, a fifth-year student at UO, started using Juul in 2018 and did not previously use nicotine. He was not warned of the health effects of the product or how much nicotine Juul’s nicotine pods contained, according to the complaint, which was filed in Lane County Circuit Court last Friday. Imani is now addicted to nicotine, the complaint says, and suffered from a seizure as a result of using Juul.

Scott Powell, an Alabama attorney representing Imani, did not respond to a request for comment before publication.

Juul did not respond to a request for comment before publication.

Read the full complaint here 

A similar class action suit, alleging another 15-year-old plaintiff also suffered seizures after using Juul, was filed in Florida in May; and in October, a Colorado teen also sued Juul, claiming that he suffered severe injuries and developed a nicotine addiction as a result of using the product.

Leslie O’Leary, an Oregon attorney who filed the complaint on behalf of Powell, said there is a possibility that the lawsuit could be redirected to federal court. In a class action lawsuit, a judge must determine if a certain group of affected people clear the legal requirements to be designated as a class, such as those suffering from addiction, O’Leary said. Once a class is certified, members of the affected class can file a claim and then provide proof of a claim. O’Leary said that there is no consistent remedy for every class and that it’s up to the judge to determine a remedy. 

Also named as a defendant in the lawsuit is tobacco company Altria Group Inc., the parent company of the Marlboro manufacturer Philip Morris USA. The complaint alleges that Altria, which acquired a 35% stake in Juul for $12.8 billion in 2018, was negligent and breached its duties “in providing marketing for JUUL despite knowing that JUUL electronic cigarettes were used largely by a youthful market.” The complaint also alleges that Juul and Altria engaged in a civil conspiracy to market the e-cigarette to young adults and those who didn’t already use e-cigarettes.

Altria did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

A changing regulatory environment has caused trouble for Juul’s valuation, with Altria writing down the value of its investment in the start-up by $4.5 billion in October, citing cities banning the sale of flavored e-cigarettes and a possible ban on flavored e-cigarettes, according to CNBC. 

Juul is the dominant product in the e-cigarette market, capturing 76% of the e-cigarette market share as of the end of 2018, according to The Winston-Salem Journal. Juul’s popularity led some, including members of Congress, to label the company as the cause of a vaping “epidemic” among young people.

As a result of its popularity among young users, the company has been a target of regulators across the country, with the Oregon Department of Justice investigating the company’s advertising practices and the state of Minnesota suing the company earlier this month for violating consumer protection laws, among other allegations. 

The federal government is taking action too, with Congress raising the age to purchase e-cigarettes and tobacco from 18 to 21 in last week’s spending bill. President Donald Trump also contemplated the idea of banning flavored e-cigarettes; however, he reversed his decision, according to the Washington Post.

The complaint alleges that Juul “also knew, or should have known, from the volumes of published research on nicotine, in addition to being addictive, poses various other serious health risks” and that the company “has even acknowledged that it has not investigated the long-term health consequences of its products.”

The complaint also alleges that Juul didn’t warn consumers about the hazards associated with its products, saying that it did not disclose that its e-cigarette vapor contains chemicals that form irritating compounds called acetals. Imani suffered health problems from the substances in Juul, the complaint alleges.

Many of the company’s advertisements initially also didn’t inform consumers the product contained nicotine. Even after the Juul began labeling that its products contained nicotine, the complaint says, it did not inform users that it contained more nicotine than other e-cigarettes. 

The complaint alleges that Juul followed a similar pattern to “Big Tobacco,” or large cigarette manufacturers like Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds that were ubiquitous in American culture in the 20th century, when it came to marketing to young adults. These tactics include introducing new flavors to consumers who weren’t tobacco smokers. 

“JUUL knew that Big Tobacco had produced cigarettes in various flavors that made smoking more palatable to novice smokers,” the complaint says, adding that previous legislation regulating flavored tobacco did not include e-cigarettes.

Introducing flavored products isn’t the only similarity between Juul and tobacco companies, the complaint says. Juul followed a similar pattern to cigarette manufacturers of marketing its products to young people by portraying its users as “young adults who live a hip, urbane, glamorous, care-free lifestyle surrounded by friends,” citing images of Juul ads and cigarette ads both containing young women.  

Many of the ads appeared on social media, and the complaint alleges that Juul paid social media influencers to promote their products. O’Leary said that she recalls a time growing up when cigarette companies would advertise on television and have jingles for their products. 

“Those tobacco companies ads were aimed at young people, but it also made old people think it was cool, too,” she said. “The vaping ads on social media are hitting such a young demographic. To think that super young people could be developing cancer and lung disease at such an early age is shocking to me.” 

Juul eventually changed its marketing practices to appeal to adult smokers who wish to switch to their product, but the complaint says the company “continues to deny the obvious truth — it targeted children to make billions.” 

“The public-health crisis in America’s schools continues because of the success of JUUL’s viral marketing campaign and because JUUL was designed to appeal to children,” the complaint says. 

O’Leary said that she expects state attorneys general to also become involved in litigation. 

“I would be surprised if the attorneys general didn’t jump into the fray because now there’s a public health crisis in every single state because of this thing.”

This article was updated on the afternoon of Monday, Dec. 23 to correct minor grammatical errors. 

—

For more information or news tips, or if you see an error in this story or have any compliments or concerns, contact editor@unfspinnaker.com.