'Deceptive' Juul Labs Center Of Lake Co. State's Attorney Lawsuit

LAKE COUNTY, IL — Lake County State's Attorney Michael Nerheim and his legal partners announced Tuesday they've filed a lawsuit against e-cigarette provider Juul Labs, claiming the company has consistently manipulated teens to become hooked on nicotine-aided e-cigarettes through deceptive marketing campaigns. According to a release from the state's attorney's office, the lawsuit was formally filed Tuesday in the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Court of Lake County by Nerheim, Chicago law firms of Romanucci and Blandin, LLC, Hart McLaughlin and Eldridge, LLC, and Edelson, PC. The lawsuit is the first of its kind to be filed in the U.S., according to the release.

The complaint seeks relief from the expensive burden for Illinoisans and adolescents, and seeks "civil penalties and all appropriate injunctive relief to address, remedy, and prevent further harm to Illinois residents," according to the state's attorney's office.

According to the release, officials claim Juul — the owner of more than 75 percent of the e-cigarette market — has caused a public health crisis that's already devastated the lives of many children and damaged several families.

“Just like cigarette companies did in the past, Juul preyed on teens by using advertisements that glamorized their product in order to get kids hooked on nicotine,” State’s Attorney Nerheim said, in the release. “It will take years of education and money to right the wrongs and cover the damages caused by Juul’s marketing campaigns. To that end, the company should be held accountable for the massive expected cost to undo the damage they created.”

Related: Vaping Hospitalizes 9 With Severe Breathing Problems In Illinois

The release said according to the complaint, officials compared Juul's "predatory" marketing campaign to ads promoted by big tobacco companies in the past, adding that Juul's marketing goal was to recruit new users at a young age by getting them addicted to the nicotine in e-cigarettes through online advertisements and social media interactions. The advertisements pushed out messages that acceptance, popularity, and positive self-image were attainable by using the product, according to the complaint.

According to the release, studies have proven that Juul’s nicotine delivery system and the nicotine contained in a single Juul pod is stronger than the amount found in traditional cigarettes.

More:

• Nicotine becomes even more addictive when used by adolescents.
• Studies have also shown nicotine affects brain development, attention, and cognition.
• Nicotine raises the risk of teens becoming addicted to other dangerous drugs.

According to the release, adolescents addicted to the Juul product can only undo their addiction through expensive anti-addiction and cessation treatment, and anti-e-cigarette education for the hundreds of thousands of teens.

"The cost to undermine their expensive marketing campaigns will ultimately result in public health departments putting out their own expensive marketing campaigns, paid for by taxpayers in Lake County, Illinois, and the United States of America," officials said in the release.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration opened its own investigation into Juul’s youth advertising campaign, leading Juul to announce they'd “shut down” social media accounts, in addition to promising to stop focusing their marketing toward teens, change their marketing strategy by trying to pass themselves off as a “stop smoking cure,” and declare they'd stop selling flavored nicotine pods, the release said. However, those as ads targeting youth still exist online and flavored pods continue to be sold, according to the state's attorney's office.

More details and updates: lakecountyil.gov/1901/News.