An internal report conducted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and released to Bloomberg News in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request revealed that Juul Labs Inc. received around 2,600 health complaints during the company’s first three years of operation. The complaints revolved around harmful and sometimes painful side effects of Juul’s e-cigarettes, including burning sensations in the lungs, blistered lips, and vomiting. One “serious adverse event” was reported by a woman who claimed her throat bled after she used a Juul product.
Austin Finan, a spokesman for Juul, said that the rate of complaints received per Juul pod sold is “very low.”
“We take product safety very seriously and implement stringent quality control measures to ensure the safety of all out products,” he said.
The FDA began an inspection of Juul Labs in September 2018, reviewing database records and staging sting operations to catch retailers selling Juul products to minors. Despite Juul’s mission to provide “adult smokers with a real alternative to cigarettes,” federal regulators began taking steps in 2018 to curb the rapid proliferation of Juul products, fearing an epidemic of regular nicotine use in minors, specifically teenagers. Juul’s efforts to curb e-cig use in minors led them to removing flavored pods from the market altogether, including mango, creme, fruit, and cucumber flavors.
Health Dangers of Juul E-Cigs
The health complaints outlined in the FDA’s report are defined as “illness, safety concern, or adverse event that a customer attributes to using Juul products, or an unintended exposure to Juul products, which may or may not have involved a visit to a healthcare provider.”
The complaints in the report range in severity, from mouth pain, canker sores, and tingling of the mouth and lips, to burning sensations in the lungs, chills and/or fever, lightheadedness, and throat burn resulting in bleeding.
On January 2, 2020, as a result of increased pressure from anti-vaping advocates and mounting questions regarding the long-term safety of vaping, the FDA announced an official ban on all flavored nicotine products, except tobacco and menthol.
Philadelphia Personal Injury Attorneys at Messa & Associates
We at Messa & Associates care about our clients and our community. We implore you and your family members not to smoke and not to use E-Cigarettes. But, if you do (against our advice), please utilize the following ideas to protect yourself:
- Stop using them;
- Don’t use E-Cigarettes that are damaged;
- Don’t use E-Cigarettes that have been exposed to extreme heat (like being left in a car on a summer day); and
- Discard the E-Cigarette if you feel it getting abnormally warm.
If you or someone you care about has been injured by an E-Cigarette, immediately take possession of the defective product, remove the battery, and place it in a cool area for safe keeping. Once the product is secure, contact an attorney at our office by calling 877-637-7252 or by submitting an online inquiry. Our highly qualified attorneys will obtain possession of the damaged product to have it tested to determine why and how the device malfunctioned, and bring a claim on your behalf to ensure your medical bills are paid and that you receive the compensation and justice you deserve.
