EDITORIAL FROM JUUL LABS CEO KEVIN BURNS: OUR DEDICATION TO REDUCING YOUTH VAPING

Youth use of vapor products remains an urgent issue, and JUUL Labs shares public concerns over the proliferation of these products among kids. Sunday, the Winston-Salem Journal published an editorial from Kevin Burns, CEO of JUUL Labs. In it, Kevin discusses our comprehensive initiatives aimed at curbing underage use of vapor products, including JUUL products, while correcting misinformation that continues to circulate regarding JUUL Labs’ record on youth prevention.

The piece also reviews JUUL Labs’ record of proactive action intended to address youth vaping, while preserving the unprecedented switching opportunity the JUUL system offers current adult smokers. This includes our industry-leading advocacy for Tobacco 21 legislation at the state and federal level, as well as our action plan, a set of initiatives that represent the most aggressive youth prevention actions of anyone in the industry. JUUL Labs has always acted in service to our core mission to help adult smokers switch from combustible cigarettes, which remain the leading cause of preventable death worldwide, while preventing underage use.

Key points from Kevin:

“Combatting youth use is critical for the success of our business. Our market is the over one million smokers in North Carolina and one billion worldwide who should have the opportunity to switch to vapor products if they so desire. We are seeing tremendous success so far as we believe our product is driving historic change in the consumption of combustible cigarettes.” –Kevin Burns, CEO JUUL Labs

“According to U.S. Nielsen data, cigarette sales that declined at an average rate of approximately 2.7% from 2011 to 2016 had historic declines of over 5% last year, increasing to over 10% recently. In North Carolina, recent data shows volume declines reaching almost 10%. These unprecedented trends represent a drop of over 13 billion fewer cigarettes smoked nationwide over the past year and over 400 million fewer cigarettes smoked in North Carolina alone.” –Kevin Burns, CEO JUUL Labs

“But we know that underage use endangers this incredible opportunity. That is why we have taken aggressive action and support the FDA’s recent draft guidance. And it is why we urge government agencies across the country to act against counterfeit, knockoff and other illegal vapor products, which are often made with unknown ingredients, with unknown quality standards, and with youth-appealing flavors and packaging.” –Kevin Burns, CEO JUUL Labs

Read the op-ed in its entirety here.