The Tulalip Tribe of Washington has filed a lawsuit against e-cigarette giant Juul Labs Inc. (JLI), accusing the company and its affiliates of illegally targeting teenagers in North Seattle and running deceptive ads that promote addiction to their products.
The tribe submitted a lengthy 316-page complaint, and last week a Seattle area court alleged that JLI and its affiliates "adopted the playbook of the tobacco industry" in order to lure a new generation of young tribal members into using nicotine.
The lawsuit states, "Three strategies are at the core of the tobacco industry's dominant market position for decades: product design to maximize addiction; massive deception; and targeting young people." JLI and its co-conspirators adopted and mastered all of them.
The lawsuit alleges that the use of Juul e-cigarette products is "rampant" among young people in the Tulalip tribe, with reports indicating a nearly twofold increase in the percentage of 12th grade students using nicotine between 2017 and 2018.
In recent years, Juul has faced criticism through a series of lawsuits, regulatory orders, and public health warnings. The Health Minister has quoted a new "youth vaping epidemic," which could lead to "life-long nicotine addiction and associated health risks.
Although some of the cases against Juul are still pending, settlements in the millions of dollars have already been reached in some cases, including ones with the state of Washington.
The complaint from the Tulalip Tribe cites violations of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, alleging that Juul and its subsidiaries perpetuated a deceptive marketing scheme that crossed state lines and entered a sovereign tribal nation.
The lawsuit includes multiple colorful advertisements featuring young people promoting Juul to support their claims. These ads are alleged to be reminiscent of marketing tactics used in the tobacco industry and are spread on social media to attract underage customers.
Meanwhile, Juul is facing additional regulatory scrutiny.
Last month, the FDA ordered the company to cease sales and marketing of its e-cigarettes. However, regulatory authorities agreed to suspend their court case against the company last week while conducting further review of Juul's products.
It is noteworthy that the Tulalip lawsuit states that due to "common defendants and overlapping facts," the case will soon be consolidated with three other class action lawsuits filed by tribes in California.
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