Juul Says It Will Quit Social Media--2nd Update
November 13 2018 - 1:59PM
Dow Jones News
By Jennifer Maloney
E-cigarette startup Juul Labs Inc. said it is shutting down its
Facebook and Instagram accounts and curbing its use of other social
media in the U.S., part of the company's response to the Food and
Drug Administration's call for changes to curb underage e-cigarette
use.
Sales of Juul's vaporizers and flavored nicotine liquids have
surged over the past year, fueled in part by the product's
popularity among teenagers and children. Its rapid growth was
helped by the San Francisco company's use of social media to
advertise its products as well as user-generated posts that
glamorized Juul.
"There is no question that this user-generated social media
content is linked to the appeal of vaping to underage users," Juul
Labs CEO Kevin Burns wrote in a blog post Tuesday.
When Juul launched in 2015, the startup was able to use
marketing practices, including social media and billboard ads, that
are restricted for big tobacco companies. Advertising on social
media and other platforms pitched Juul as a cool lifestyle
accessory with images of people in their 20s and 30s.
In addition to curbing its social media activity, Juul plans to
stop selling nicotine liquids with flavors like mango, fruit and
creme at bricks-and-mortar stores. It will continue to sell all its
products on its website, which the company says has
age-verification technology. The Wall Street Journal earlier
reported on Juul's retail shift.
The moves come as the FDA prepares to announce sharp
restrictions on the sale of such products, part of its effort to
combat use of e-cigarettes by teens and children. The new rules
would be effective immediately.
In addition to shutting down its U.S. Facebook and Instagram
accounts, Mr. Burns said his company's presence on Twitter would be
limited to nonpromotional communications, and that Juul would use
YouTube for posting testimonials of former adult smokers who have
switched to its product.
Mr. Burns said he would also ask Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
and Snapchat to prohibit posts that promote underage use of
e-cigarettes. A Facebook spokesman didn't immediately respond to a
request for comment.
"Our intent was never to have youth use Juul," Mr. Burns, who
joined Juul about a year ago, wrote in Tuesday's blog post. "But
intent is not enough, the numbers are what matter, and the numbers
tell us underage use of e-cigarette products is a problem. We must
solve it."
Analysts say more than half of Juul's sales come from four
flavors: mango, fruit, cucumber and creme. The company said those
flavors, along with tobacco, mint and menthol, were introduced to
appeal to adult smokers, but Mr. Burns said the nontraditional
flavors had also become attractive to younger nonsmokers.
Juul Labs will monitor use of its products by young people in
other countries and determine its social media approach on a
country-by-country basis, according to a person familiar with the
matter. Health officials in the U.K., for example, have said that
existing regulations there have prevented uptake of Juul by
teens.
Write to Jennifer Maloney at jennifer.maloney@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 13, 2018 14:44 ET (19:44 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024