Vaping Giant Juul Labs To Suspend Most Retail Sales

The New York Times reports:

Facing mounting government pressure and a public backlash over the epidemic of teenage vaping, Juul Labs announced on Tuesday that it would stop selling most of its flavored e-cigarette pods in retail stores and would discontinue its social media promotions.

The decision by the San Francisco-based company, which has more than 70 percent of the e-cigarette market share in the United States, was made as the Food and Drug Administration moved forward with a plan to ban sales of flavored e-cigarettes in convenience stores and gas stations.

The agency was expected to announce its formal plan, which also included stepping up the requirements for age verification of online sales of flavored e-cigarette products, later this week.

CNBC reports:

The company on Tuesday stopped accepting retail orders for its mango, fruit, creme and cucumber pods to the more than 90,000 convenience stores and other retail shops, CEO Kevin Burns said in a blog post on the company’s website.

Consumers will still be able to buy all of Juul’s flavors on its website and its four tobacco and menthol-flavored pods in retail stores, Burns said.

The company plans to resume sales to retailers that adopt the company’s new age restrictions and verification system. Juul is banning sales to anyone under 21, even in states where the legal age is lower. Additionally, Juul will more intensely police individual retailers by increasing its secret shopper visits from 500 to about 2,000 per month.