STATEMENT REGARDING VERMONT RAISING THE PURCHASING AGE TO 21 FOR ALL TOBACCO AND VAPOR PRODUCTS

From Kevin Burns, JUUL Labs Chief Executive Officer

We applaud the Governor and the Vermont General Assembly for enacting legislation to raise the purchasing age for all tobacco products, including vapor products, to 21, making Vermont the eighth state to take this important step in 2019.

We won’t succeed in providing the world’s one billion adult smokers with a true alternative to combustible cigarettes, the number one cause of preventable death in this country, if youth-use continues unabated. Tobacco 21 laws fight one of the largest contributors to this problem – sharing by legal-age peers – and they have been shown to dramatically reduce youth-use rates. That is why we are committed to working with lawmakers to enact these effective policies and hope more jurisdictions follow in Vermont’s example.

Read more about our push to raise the purchasing age for all tobacco and vapor products nationwide.