Juul Asks Judge to Pause Lawsuits Alleging Company Fueled Public Health Crisis

Juul Labs has asked a federal judge in San Francisco to dismiss or pause hundreds of lawsuits that allege the company fueled a public health crisis by creating a youth vaping epidemic, Reuters reports.

The company said the Food and Drug Administration should have time to determine whether Juul can continue to market its products.

A new review of more than 30 studies of Juul and similar pod-based e-cigarettes finds that while the products may contain lower levels of harmful ingredients than conventional cigarettes, there is no evidence that these lower levels are safe for youth.

“We found that pod-based e-cigarettes have a higher potential to get youth and young adults addicted than other devices,” researcher Stella Lee said in a news release from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “To prevent this from happening, we need stronger health communication messages that alert people to these findings.”