Juul pulls support for San Francisco vaping measure

Juul Labs Inc. has announced the company will pull its support for a ballot measure to repeal anti-vaping legislation in San Francisco.

Juul provided $19 million to support Proposition C, which would have permitted adults to buy any vape product, The Associated Press reported. In June, the city banned the selling of e-cigarettes and vape products not reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration.

{mosads}The measure will still appear on the ballot, although the largest creator of e-cigarettes provided the majority of the financial support for the proposition, according to the newswire.

Newly appointed CEO K.C. Crosthwaite announced the decision in a statement.  

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

The former CEO of Juul, Kevin Burns, stepped down last week.

Larry Tramutola, who leads the No on Prop C campaign, told the AP in a statement that $7 million of Juul’s contributions have not been spent yet.

“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,” he said in the statement.

The company made its decision to stop actively supporting Proposition C as the company has been immersed in a national health crisis.

There have been 14 deaths traced to vaping after hundreds have experienced a lung illness after vaping, with many saying their e-cigarettes included THC products.

The growing number of people affected has led Michigan, New York and Rhode Island to ban flavored vaping products. President Trump also has taken on an anti-vaping mission by announcing last month the federal government would ban non-tobacco vaping flavors.