JUUL Co-Founder Quits the Company
James Monsees the JUUL co-founder quits the board of directors.
He says it’s to spend ‘more time with his family‘ a stock phrase used in many high profile resignations…
Monsees launched the company alongside Adam Bowen back in 2007 and JUUL was then known as Ploom Inc.
The company has been under the severest scrutiny over the past 18months with many tying it to the so called ‘teen vape epidemic’.
JUUL is currently being sued left right and centre with around 40 different lawsuits currently against them.
Monsees told employees in an email:
Building this company alongside all of you has been the single most rewarding experience of my career and perhaps my life.
JUUL is currently valued at $4.2 billion a drop from over $12 billion in its heyday.
UK Vape Company Now Manufacturing Hand Sanitizers
Not only is a Northern Ireland based e-liquid company now producing hand sanitizers, it’s giving away 500 free of charge to the elderly and most in need.
Liquid Creations Ltd produces juice and CBD and is now switching some production to hand sanitizers in the wake of the coronavirus scare.
Mo Vij and Ankush Vij own and run the company and say it was a simple process to begin making the sanitizers.
Mo said not only was he giving to the needy, supermarket chains have already put in orders and he’s sold out for at least two weeks.
He said:
We tried to get hand sanitizers for the factory and we weren’t able to get any so we decided to call on the chemical suppliers we work with to formulate our own.
Given we have the automated lines this is something we are well able to manage.
In the first instance, we want to supply over 500 bottles free to the elderly and charities, but we will also be delivering 100,000 units to a UK supermarket chain.
We are sold out for the next two to three weeks.
Every cloud and all that!
But what a lovely thing to do – as in giving free of charge to those that need the sanitizers the most.
Florida Flavour Ban
The Governor of Florida has received a new bill that would ban all flavours in the state apart from tobacco and menthol.
And yup – those promoting the bill are doing it to ‘protect the children’ – God give me strength.
Most of the state’s politicians agree with the age restriction on buying e-cig products be raised to 21 – but many fear that doesn’t go far enough.
The voice of reason comes from Republican Alex Andrade who said the whole thing was a massive over-reaction:
I think there’s been a lot of confusion and kneejerk reactions across the country in response to vapor related illnesses and vaping related deaths.
For context, there were 480,000 tobacco and smoking related deaths in Florida last year.
There were 33 vaping related deaths nationwide.
Wise words and of course I shall be keeping an eye on developments.
No Washington Flavour Ban – For Now!
The Washington Smoke Free Association is celebrating after a bill to ban flavours failed to reach the Senate.
They say a lot of behind the scenes negotiations went on and time simply ran out for the bill to be passed.
The Vapor Technology Association – VTA – said:
VTA and Washington Smoke Free Association have been fighting a flavor ban (SB 6254) since the beginning of the session.
On Thursday, the bill was amended on the Senate floor and passed.
Through one-on-one discussions by business owners and the VTA lobbying team with legislators, the bill never came to the floor in the House as the session ended for the year last night.
This is a significant victory for our industry and adults who use flavored products as a safer alternative to combustible cigarettes.
Thank you to all those who helped us defeat this harmful legislation.
As to if the bill will rear its ugly head when the next session opens – we shall see – still great news for vapers in Washington!
Vape Shops Re-Opened In Italy!
Italy is in complete shutdown due to the coronavirus with many businesses shut, however, the Government has allowed vape shops to open up.
It says e-cigarettes are a tool for public health!
Non essential businesses are closed but Italy will re-open vape shops tomorrow. Vape shops are essential for Public Health! https://t.co/LkeK38lutd
— Victoria Vasconcello (@vickvapes) March 13, 2020
Now that’s a vote of confidence if ever I saw one!
As you can see from the tweet above, our old friend and pro-vaping health expert Professor Riccardo Polosa was delighted!
Remember he was the guy who told UK politicians that burned toast was more dangerous than vaping!
Great news indeed!
Free Vape Kits In Great Yarmouth
Smokers looking to quit and who live in Great Yarmouth UK are to be given free vouchers to take to a vape shop to get a free kit!
I wrote about a similar project a couple of years ago – the QuitForLife scheme in Hampshire which was a massive success.
Now smokers desperate to quit can get the vape vouchers from their GP thanks to SmokeFree Norfolk.
The scheme is also being evaluated by researchers from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and are asking users to give feedback after one month of use.
Head researcher Dr. Caitlin Notley, Senior Lecturer at UEA’s Medical School said:
Research shows that vaping is an effective method of quitting smoking when compared with nicotine replacement therapies like patches and gum, and e-cigarettes are now the most frequently chosen method of stop smoking support.
Caitlin has past experience in vaping studies and produced the pro-vaping and extremely readable study: The unique contribution of e-cigarettes for tobacco harm reduction in supporting smoking relapse prevention.
I wrote a detailed article about her research back in June 2018 with the title E-Cigarettes Are THE Best Way To Quit Smoking Says University Report – if you fancy having a read of that 🙂
Caitlin said:
There is a lot of interest in methods to help people in coastal communities like Great Yarmouth to quit smoking.
It is important to have an independent evaluation of pilot projects such as this one, so that we can robustly conclude whether the outcomes are positive, and if not, we can make recommendations for future practice and service provision.
Let’s hope plenty of smokers take up the free vape kit offer!
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More vape news on Wednesday!
