Los Angeles (AFP)

California and Los Angeles announced Monday that it has filed a lawsuit against Juul Labs, the number one e-cigarette in the United States, for deliberately targeting minors in marketing practices to encourage them to vape. illegal.

The complaint, filed by California federal prosecutor Xavier Becerra and his counterpart in the city of Los Angeles, also states that Juul has failed to meet its age verification requirements for consumers in that state. And when it did, the San Francisco-based firm improperly kept the email addresses of the minors it had identified as such to send them advertisements.

In California, the law bans the sale of nicotine-containing vaping products to people under the age of 21, which did not prevent Juul from marketing such products with attractive flavors for young people (mango, sweet mint , crème brûlée, cucumber ...).

The startup, which has always denied targeting minors, has stopped marketing these refills in recent weeks.

According to a statement from the prosecutor Becerra citing US health authorities, the use of these products flavored by minors continues to grow rapidly in the United States, especially among college and high school students. "Juul sales have exploded and now represent more than 64% of the US vaping market," the statement said.

"We have put in too much effort and invested too much money in the fight against smoking to sit idly by while Californians succumb to vaping and nicotine addiction," Xavier Becerra said at a press conference. press conference.

"Juul has adopted the sinister practices of the tobacco industry and used advertisements targeting the most vulnerable targets without worrying about public health," he accuses.

In anticipation of an impending decision by health authorities, the leader in electronic cigarettes recently announced the end of the sale of mint flavored refills, after the publication of a study showing that it was the favorite taste of American high school students.

Juul now sells only three flavors: two with tobacco and one with menthol, which is different from mint.

Some of its marketing practices have earned the company this summer the opening of an investigation by the federal agency for consumer protection.

© 2019 AFP