The Natrona County School District officially filed a lawsuit against e-cigarette giant Juul this week, alleging the company had targeted young people and had misrepresented the true potency of the devices.
"As a result of JUUL's youth-targeted marketing and misrepresentations about its products, JUUL has succeeded in addicting a new generation of youth to nicotine," alleges the federal lawsuit, filed by a Jackson-based law firm. "Nicotine use among America's youth is rising sharply. With JUUL as the dominant market-leader, e-cigarette use increased 78% among high-school students and 48% among middle-school students from 2017 to 2018."
The school district's board gave Jackson attorney Jason Ochs the go-ahead to file the suit last month. It broadly alleges that the company specifically marketed its products to teens, even designing its flash drive-like device to set it apart from the stigma-saddled traditional cigarettes. It charges Juul with downplaying and misrepresenting how much nicotine was present in the "pods."
