Juul CEO Apologizes to Parents of Teenagers on TV

On August 27, according to a BBC report cited by Tobacco Science & Education Network, the CEO of U.S. vaping startup Juul Labs recently issued a public apology on television to parents of teenagers, saying he was concerned that young people may be using the company’s vaping products.

According to the report, in a program titled “Vaping: The Addiction of America’s E-Cigarettes,” CEO Kevin Burns said the company would do nothing to attract young people to its vaping products.

Kevin Burns said, “I’m sorry that kids are using the product. These products were never intended for teenagers. I hope everything we do does not make young people interested in the product. I am the parent of a 16-year-old, and I understand the challenges parents are facing.”

Federal law prohibits the sale of vaping products to people under 18, but in reality, one in five high school students uses e-cigarettes. According to statistics from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), about 3.6 million middle and high school students across the United States regularly use e-cigarettes.