JUUL Launches Measures to Restrict Underage Purchases: Age Verification Rolled Out in Retail Stores

On September 7, news from American media reported that JUUL announced on Thursday that it would introduce a new age verification system at points of sale aimed at restricting underage purchases. This is the latest attempt by the electronic cigarette giant to distance itself from accusations of targeting teenagers.

The company stated that over 40,000 stores from more than 50 retail chains have committed to adopting the new standards, including convenience store chains ExtraMile and Cumberland Farms.

Controlling about 75% of the U.S. e-cigarette market, JUUL will incentivize stores that adopt the standard by offering over $100 million in rewards by May 2021 and plans to stop distributing products to non-compliant retailers.

Specifically, JUUL is working with retailers across the U.S. to implement the strictest age verification standards for retail products, far exceeding those for other tobacco or alcohol products. According to JUUL Labs' Retail Access Control Standards (RACS) program, each retail point of sale system will lock when JUUL products are scanned and remain locked until the retailer electronically scans a valid government-issued ID to verify age and ID validity. Additionally, RACS imposes automatic limits on the number of products that legal-age customers can purchase. Scanned personal data will be immediately eliminated after the transaction.

The company's statement comes as more states, including Maryland and Virginia, report cases of lung disease related to vaping.

Through JUUL's new plan, scanning JUUL products will lock the point of sale system until a valid government ID is scanned. The plan also automatically limits the number of JUUL products a customer can purchase, aimed at preventing bulk purchases and resale to minors by legal-age customers.

The company added that it will roll out its Track & Trace program nationwide, designed to locate JUUL devices and the places they are sold with the help of educators, police, and parents reporting device serial numbers. According to JUUL, the program has been piloted in Houston over the past five months.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of high school students using e-cigarettes increased by 78% from 2017 to 2018, while middle school students increased by 48%.

The CDC stated, "The increase in e-cigarette use from 2017 to 2018 may be attributed to the recent popularity of e-cigarettes shaped like USB flash drives, such as JUUL. These products can be used discreetly, have high nicotine content, and come in flavors appealing to young people."

JUUL executives have defended themselves against accusations of targeting youth products. In an interview on Thursday with CBS This Morning, CEO Kevin Burns told non-smokers not to use JUUL products.

"These reports reiterate the need for significant regulation on access and enforcement to ensure that all tobacco and nicotine products are not marketed to youth," said JUUL spokesperson Ted Kwong.

"If you have no prior relationship with nicotine, do not start using nicotine. Do not use this product. You are not our target consumer," he said.

However, Burns has stopped using the terms "crisis" or "epidemic" to refer to the underage vaping issue, as previous FDA commissioners have done. "I won't use the same words... others have used. But it is important and concerning," he told CBS News.

The company's statement comes as more states, including Maryland and Virginia, report cases of lung disease related to vaping.

On Thursday, JUUL's spokesperson expressed dissatisfaction with previous statements made to MarketWatch regarding these illnesses.

"Like any health-related incidents reported in connection with vaping products, we are monitoring these reports and have established a robust safety monitoring system," spokesperson Ted Kwong told MarketWatch. "We understand that health authorities are reviewing these incidents."

He also emphasized that reports indicate that recent patients may have been found with both nicotine and THC, the latter of which is not sold. "In any case, these reports reiterate the need for significant regulation on access and enforcement to ensure that all tobacco and nicotine products do not affect youth," he said. "We must also ensure that illegal products, such as counterfeit products, replicas, and those offering controlled substances, are kept off the market."#p#分页标题#e#