A ban on flavoured cartridges led to a sharp decline in popular Juul products – just as disposable vapes rose in popularity
A ban on flavoured vapes led to a fall in the number of young Americans taking up e-cigarette smoking in 2020, though competitors selling disposables dodged the restriction and saw a boost in sales.
At the US Virtual E-Cigarette summit last week, delegates heard Juul’s sales slumped by 18 per cent last year.
That followed a Food and Drug Administration ban in January 2020 on all flavours except menthol and traditional nicotine – which are not popular among young vapers.
The Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan studied the impact of the ban on young consumers.
“Flavourings play a role in attracting children towards tobacco products,” said Prof Richard Miech, lead investigator at the institute, at the event.
“We noticed the growth of e-cigarette use in youths hit the brakes in 2020. Teen use of Juul declined from 2019-20 at a record rate.”
The decline followed a 100 per cent increase in use from 2017-2018 among 10th and 12th grade pupils.
Juul voluntarily removed all flavours in the US two years ago. The FDA forced other manufacturers to do the same.
Nick Webster – The National News – 2021-05-30.