Vaping device maker sued over teen’s wrongful death

Juul Labs Inc., through its massively popular e-cigarette vaping device, has singlehandedly revived the nicotine epidemic among youth originally spread by tobacco companies, according to attorneys representing the mother of a deceased 18-year-old in the first wrongful death lawsuit against the company.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in San Francisco, claimed Juul "took advantage of minimal regulations and loopholes for e-cigarettes at a time when youth smoking was at its lowest level in decades" by primarily marketing products with dangerously high nicotine levels to mostly young people.

As critics are calling for more governmental scrutiny and regulatory oversight, there are now roughly 500 plaintiffs, many of them minors, in consolidated litigation in San Francisco federal court, arguing Juul improperly advertised to teenagers and failed to disclose that e-cigarettes can be more addictive than traditional cigarettes.

"Juul looked at Big Tobacco's marketing and mimicked it," said Angela Nehmens, representing the plaintiff, who alleges her son died because of the company's vaping device over a year ago.

Juul e-cigarettes are compact, USB-shaped devices that vaporize nicotine liquid. The company sells a variety of flavored "pods" that are marketed at children, according to the complaint, which claims the number of high school seniors who reported vaping nicotine nearly doubled from 11% to 21% in 2018.

Daniel Wakefield died of breathing complications in August 2018, according to the suit, and a medical examiner attributed the cause of death to natural causes, noting that he had asthma.

Wakefield had previously been hospitalized when he was 16, just a year after starting to use Juul's e-cigarettes according to the complaint, for breathing and lung complications. Hospital staff had to apply nicotine patches because he was so addicted to the chemical, the lawsuit states.

The complaint, which seeks punitive damages, alleges products liability, negligence and conspiracy, among other claims. Vail v. Juul Labs, Inc., 19-CV06597 (N.D. Cal., filed Oct. 15, 2019).

Juul is valued at $38 billion, according to financial analysts at Wells Fargo.

Altria, the parent company of Phillip Morris, acquired in December a 35% stake in Juul for $12.8 billion. Former Altria executive K.C. Crosthwaite was appointed the company's CEO last month.

"Being tied to Big Tobacoo alone belies their public statements," Nehman said, referring to Juul tapping Crosthwaite to head the company.

Juul did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

Realizing an opportunity to strike while there was minimal oversight, the e-cigarette maker engaged in a widespread campaign to sell its devices to teenagers, Nehman added. He said the company primarily advertised through Instagram influencers and heavily marketed its flavored nicotine.

"They knew regulations were going to kick in," she said. "They knew they had a loophole and would have it for a short time."

Juul suspended all broadcast, print and digital product advertising last month.

Plaintiffs' attorney Mahzad Hite, who is also representing Wakefield, likened Juul to tobacco and more currently, technology companies, that "rush to market without studying" their products.

While Juul presents its product as a safe alternative to cigarettes, Hite said the company never completed the scientific research to substantiate the claim.

"They reached unicorn evaluation in less than a year at a faster rate than Facebook, Dropbox and Twitter," Hite continued. "That gave them the ability to grow in a way we probably wouldn't have seen if they didn't have that sort of investment."

The Food and Drug Administration accused the company of failing to prove its products were safer than cigarettes along with illegal marketing practices after a Juul representative told members of Congress in July the product is "totally safe."

Hite said she expects Juul attorneys to "fight hard and fight dirty, considering how big of an investment Big Tobacco has in Juul and the involvement of Big Tobacco executive in running" the company.