Juul Labs will no longer sell most of their flavored e-cigarettes in physical retail locations. Those nicotine pods include cucumber and mango, which will now be sold exclusively on the Juul website instead. The decision is intended to help curb the sale of e-cigarettes to minors. Consumers who wish to purchase the flavored nicotine pods will have to undergo an age verification process, which prohibits anyone under the age of 21 from purchasing the product.
How does the verification work?
According to JUUL.com, the verification process to buy the pods will be a four-step process. Consumers must provide their name, data of birth, and the last four digits of their social security number. A third-party will then verify the information, and they will cross-reference this information with publicly available records. If those records don’t match, a member of JUUL’s compliance team will have to review a government-issued I.D. to verify their age.
Will All JUUL flavors Be Exclusive to the Online Store?
Not all JUUL nicotine pods will be exclusive to the internet. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company will still sell their tobacco flavored and methol flavored products in store.
A spin-off of Pax Labs, Juul Labs has come to monopolize seventy-five percent of the e-cigarette industry. A huge part of the reason they’ve been able to dominate the industry is because of their advertising efforts.
Law enforcement, anti-tobacco groups, and the FDA have all criticized the company for these ad campaigns, largely because their messages of flavored products appeal to teenagers and kids.
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In fact, the FDA announced that they might ban some or even all of these flavored pods if the company didn’t develop a strategy that would reduce the use of e-cigarettes amongst young consumers.
Meanwhile, officials are planning to tighten regulations on e-cigarettes in general. According to the Washington Post, the FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb is expected to announce a ban that will prohibit companies from selling most flavored e-cigarettes in stores. They also have plans to impose age-verification requirements for online sales and to potentially ban menthol in regular cigarettes.
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Data Source: buzzfeednews.com