Juul Once Looked Too Big to Fail. Lawsuits and Federal Regulations Are Changing That

It’s been a rough fall for Juul. After weeks of intensifying scrutiny from federal regulators, resulting in plans to pull many of its products off the market entirely, the company was hit on Oct. 29 with an explosive lawsuit filed by a former financial executive at the company, who alleged that Juul knowingly sold at least a million contaminated mint-flavored nicotine pods earlier this year. The plaintiff, former senior vice president of global finance Siddharth Breja, claims he was wrongfully terminated for raising concerns about the sale of these pods. The claims, which Juul vigorously denied in a statement provided to TIME, caused a stir—especially since they came to light in the middle of a mysterious outbreak of vaping-related lung diseases, which public-health officials have tied to products that contain THC, particularly bootleg versions. (Juul’s pods contain only nicotine; Breja’s lawyer did not respond to TIME’s request for clarification about the alleged cause of contamination.) As much attention as the juicy lawsuit received, however, experts say it’s only a small part of a much larger legal headache for Juul, one that has been building for months and could threaten the company’s future viability. The new lawsuit was “fuel added to a flame that’s already burning pretty hot,” says Mary Crossley, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law who specializes in health care. As the lawsuits pile u...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized public health Source Type: news