Juul Pulls Support For Prop C, Measure To Overturn San Francisco E-Cigarette Ban
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Amid the recent vaping health headlines and a leadership shakeup, San Francisco-based Juul Labs announced it will cease active support of Proposition C, the measure to overturn the city's e-cigarette ban.
"I am committed to seeing that JUUL engages productively with all stakeholders, including regulators, policymakers and our customers. This decision does not change the fact that as a San Francisco-founded and headquartered company we remain committed to the city," said newly appointed CEO K.C. Crosthwaite.
The move comes as the e-cigarette industry giant announced a broad review of its company policies. Without Juul's support, the "Yes On Prop C" campaign was left without its largest contributor and is effectively finished.
Larry Turamutola, the campaign director for "No On Prop C," wasn't quite persuaded by Juul's announcement, saying it could be "yet another of a series of lies and exaggerations from Juul and Big Tobacco."
"The political reality is that Juul's campaign already shattered spending records for a corporate-sponsored committee — and that was 45 days before the election. Juul has outspent the No on C coalition by a ratio of 7.5-to-1. Juul's ads are still on the air as of right now. And Juul has portrayed Prop C as a crackdown on e-cigarettes in San Francisco — when in fact it's the exact opposite," Turamutola said in a statement Monday evening.
"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."
RELATED:
- Juul CEO Kevin Burns Steps Down Amid Growing Vaping Health Crisis
- FDA Investigates SF-Based JUUL's Campaign For Ballot Measure To Overturn Ban On E-Cigs
Amid a vaping epidemic among teens, the company's marketing practices have faced scrutiny from multiple agencies and several states, including the Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administration. Earlier this month, the Trump administration announced that it would ban sales of most flavored e-cigarettes.
Prop C goes on the ballot in November.
