CHICAGO (WAND) – Illinois will join several other states to sue San Francisco-based Juul Labs Inc. Attorney General Kwame Raul announced the news on Thursday.
The lawsuit says that Juul Labs Inc. has used deceptive marketing practices to sell to young users. It’s also believed that the company contributed to a youth vaping epidemic using misleading tactics to sell their products. The company also advertises e-cigarettes as safer alternatives to cigarettes.
Illinois joins the lawsuit with California and New York. Several other states are still conducting investigations to weigh if they will join the multi-state lawsuit.
“Kids now commonly call the restroom at their schools "the vaping room" in middle and high schools. "This is why today I am announcing a lawsuit against the largest e-cigarette manufacturer in the country, Juul Labs, Raul said during a Thursday afternoon press conference.
The company previously ended the U.S. advertising campaigns and shut down the social media accounts that are the subject of the lawsuit. It also stopped selling most flavors of its e-cigarettes after complaints that they were aimed at attracting young users, not just smokers looking for an alternative to cigarettes.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
