Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Juul Stops Funding San Francisco Vaping Measure
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
October 1, 2019

Share

SAN FRANCISCO — Juul Labs Inc. announced Monday that it will stop supporting a ballot measure to overturn an anti-vaping law in San Francisco, effectively killing the campaign.

“I am committed to seeing that JUUL engages productively with all stakeholders, including regulators, policymakers and our customers. This decision does not change the fact that as a San Francisco-founded and headquartered company we remain committed to the city.” — newly appointed CEO K.C. Crosthwaite

The nation’s largest maker of e-cigarettes said it will end its support for Proposition C after donating nearly $19 million. It was virtually the only financial backer of the measure.

“Based on that news, we have made the decision not to continue on with the campaign,” Yes on C said in a statement.

However, the proposition will still appear on the November ballot.

Proposition C would have allowed the sale of vape products to adults, partially overturning the city’s June ordinance that as of next year would ban sales of e-cigarettes and vape products not reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The move was part of a broad review of company policies in the wake of a leadership shakeup.

“I am committed to seeing that JUUL engages productively with all stakeholders, including regulators, policymakers and our customers,” newly appointed CEO K.C. Crosthwaite said in a statement. “This decision does not change the fact that as a San Francisco-founded and headquartered company we remain committed to the city.”

However, Larry Tramutola, who directs the No on Prop C campaign, was skeptical, noting that about $7 million in Juul’s campaign donations remain unspent.

 

Critics Contend That Vaping Products Are Being Marketed to Minors

“This could very well be yet another of a series of lies and exaggerations from Juul and Big Tobacco,” he said in a statement. “Until they return the $7 million unspent dollars that is in their political account, until they suspend their mail, their advertising, their paid phone calls and lay off their consultants we do not believe them.”

“This could very well be yet another of a series of lies and exaggerations from Juul and Big Tobacco. Until they return the $7 million unspent dollars that is in their political account, until they suspend their mail, their advertising, their paid phone calls and lay off their consultants we do not believe them.” — Larry Tramutola, who directs the No on Prop C campaign

The move came as a 14th U.S. death linked to vaping was reported in Nebraska. Hundreds of people have suffered lung ailments tied to vaping, although no major e-cigarette company has been linked to them and many patients said they vaped products that included THC, the intoxicating chemical in marijuana.

Even so, critics contend that vaping products are being marketed to minors through the use of social media popular with teens and the production of candy- and fruit-flavored vaping capsules.

Michigan, New York and Rhode Island recently banned flavored vaping products. President Donald Trump has said that the federal government would act to prohibit thousands of flavors used in e-cigarettes because they appeal to underage users.

Juul has said it doesn’t market to youth and its products are meant to be an alternative to smoking. However, the company’s advertising is under federal investigation, and the company recently announced it will stop advertising its e-cigarettes in the U.S.

E-cigarettes have been largely unregulated since arriving in the U.S. in 2007. The Food and Drug Administration has set next May as a deadline for manufacturers to submit their products for review.

Health experts generally consider e-cigarettes less harmful than traditional cigarettes because they don’t contain all the cancer-causing byproducts of burning tobacco. But there’s virtually no long-term research on the health effects of the vapor produced when e-cigarettes heat a liquid with nicotine.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno State’s Ag College Is Growing. A New Corporate Sponsor Will Help Them

DON'T MISS

Trump Compares Russia and Ukraine to Children Fighting

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Imposes Sanctions on Four ICC Judges in Unprecedented Move

DON'T MISS

SpaceX Will Decommission Dragon Spacecraft, Musk Says as Feud With Trump Escalates

DON'T MISS

Erika Sandoval Gets Life Sentence in Notorious Tulare County Murder

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Strikes Beirut’s Southern Suburbs

DON'T MISS

We Are Being Governed by the Trump Organization Inc.

DON'T MISS

Wondrous Webster Has the Makings of a Wonderful Family Member

DON'T MISS

Trump Threatens Musk’s Government Deals as Feud Explodes Over Tax-Cut Bill

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Want Your Tips to Solve Taylor Washington Homicide

UP NEXT

Were Cuts in Rooftop Solar Payments Legal? CA Supreme Court Hears Arguments

UP NEXT

New CA Bill Would Streamline Solar Conversion for Dry Farmland

UP NEXT

It’s Expensive to Become a Teacher in California. This Bill Would Pay Those Who Try

UP NEXT

Suspect Arrested in Connection With Deadly California Fertility Clinic Bombing

UP NEXT

US Sees No Viable Path for California High-Speed Rail Project, May Rescind $4 Billion

UP NEXT

US Judge Dismisses California’s Tariff Lawsuit, Teeing up Appeal

UP NEXT

Young Democrats Offer Lessons for Their Leaders at Party Convention

UP NEXT

California Prisons Have a Narcotics Problem. Now, More People Will Face Canine Searches

UP NEXT

California Inmate Gets Five Years for Role in Drone Drug Smuggling Scheme

UP NEXT

Trump Threatens California With Fines After Trans Athlete Wins Girls’ State Titles

SpaceX Will Decommission Dragon Spacecraft, Musk Says as Feud With Trump Escalates

16 hours ago

Erika Sandoval Gets Life Sentence in Notorious Tulare County Murder

16 hours ago

Israeli Military Strikes Beirut’s Southern Suburbs

16 hours ago

We Are Being Governed by the Trump Organization Inc.

17 hours ago

Wondrous Webster Has the Makings of a Wonderful Family Member

17 hours ago

Trump Threatens Musk’s Government Deals as Feud Explodes Over Tax-Cut Bill

17 hours ago

Fresno Police Want Your Tips to Solve Taylor Washington Homicide

18 hours ago

Derek Carr Explains Mysterious Retirement. He Didn’t Want to ‘Just Take the Saints’ Money’

19 hours ago

What Do Valley Leaders Say About Trump’s Threat to Yank High-Speed Rail Funding?

20 hours ago

Were Cuts in Rooftop Solar Payments Legal? CA Supreme Court Hears Arguments

20 hours ago

Fresno State’s Ag College Is Growing. A New Corporate Sponsor Will Help Them

The nonprofit supporting Fresno State’s ag specialty college unveiled its first corporate sponsor Thursday supporting students and tea...

14 hours ago

14 hours ago

Fresno State’s Ag College Is Growing. A New Corporate Sponsor Will Help Them

15 hours ago

Trump Compares Russia and Ukraine to Children Fighting

15 hours ago

Trump Administration Imposes Sanctions on Four ICC Judges in Unprecedented Move

16 hours ago

SpaceX Will Decommission Dragon Spacecraft, Musk Says as Feud With Trump Escalates

16 hours ago

Erika Sandoval Gets Life Sentence in Notorious Tulare County Murder

16 hours ago

Israeli Military Strikes Beirut’s Southern Suburbs

17 hours ago

We Are Being Governed by the Trump Organization Inc.

Webster, GV Wire's Adoptable Pet of the Week, June 5, 2025
17 hours ago

Wondrous Webster Has the Makings of a Wonderful Family Member

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend