Anti-Tobacco Group Calls Juul CEO Apology to Parents “Fake”

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids this week criticized an apology to parents by the CEO of e-cigarette maker Juul, calling it “fake.”

In a documentary aired on CNBC this week, Juul CEO Kevin Burns was asked what he would say to a parent with a child addicted to Juul. “First of all, I’d tell them that I’m sorry that their child’s using the product,” Burns said. “It’s not intended for them. I hope there was nothing that we did that made it appealing to them. As a parent of a 16-year-old, I’m sorry for them, and I have empathy for them, in terms of what the challenges they’re going through.”

In a statement, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids President Matthew Myers said, “This is a deceptive, self-serving gesture by Juul given their complete refusal to take responsibility for creating the youth e-cigarette epidemic. It is a blatant attempt to deflect attention from the company’s wrongdoing while it opposes meaningful government regulation to prevent it from continuing to addict kids.”