Juul Shipped At Least A Million Contaminated Pods, New Lawsuit Says

[cyndensco]

Source: Buzzfeed News

SAN FRANCISCO — A former Juul executive is alleging in a lawsuit that the fast-growing startup shipped out 1 million contaminated e-cigarette pods earlier this year — but did not tell customers or issue a recall.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday by Siddharth Breja, a former senior vice president of global finance who worked at the San Francisco–based company from May 2018 to March 2019. In the lawsuit — filed in US District Court for the Northern District of California on the same day that Juul confirmed its plans to lay off about 500 people — Breja claims he was retaliated against for raising concerns about the contaminated shipment.

In another instance, Breja says he was worried when the company, in February 2019, wanted to resell pods that were at that point almost one year old. He protested their resale and urged the company to at least include an expiration or “best by” date, or a date of manufacture, on the packaging.

The lawsuit claims that then-CEO Kevin Burns shot down that idea, saying, “Half our customers are drunk and vaping like mo-fos, who the fuck is going to notice the quality of our pods.”




Read more: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniemlee/juul-lawsuit-contaminated-pods

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This story was covered today on CBS This Morning. Might this be the source for all the lung injuries/deaths?

[jberryhill]

1. "Might this be the source for all the lung injuries/deaths?"

Unlikely.

Juul was not a common factor among the persons experiencing those problems. Given that the Juul product has been around for years, and those injuries and deaths happened suddenly and recently, the more common factor seems to be black market THC vape formulations (which a number of the users also had reason to avoid admitting to have had since they'd be admitting to criminal activity).

[SoCalNative]

2. Exactly

old pods don't necessarily mean "contaminated" just old and perhaps not full strength. Seems that the headline was created for more sensationalism.

[cyndensco]

7. I understood the article to state there were 2 different issues.

The first was 1 million contaminated 2-cigarettes - CBS specified "mint refill kits."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/juul-lawsuit-former-executive-claims-he-was-fired-for-raising-concerns-about-one-million-contaminated-pods/


Then,"In another instance, Breja says he was worried when the company, in February 2019, wanted to resell pods that were at that point almost one year old."

I agree expired products do not necessarily indicate contamination.

[mopinko]

6. or devices.

some evidence of metal fume pneumonia in the biopsies, i believe. this points to something in the devices or carts themselves. read a blog post about this, so cant swear this is true.
i have also only seen one kid who used juuls, specifically. his folks said it was only juul, but who knows.

[IronLionZion]

3. Some people in this story are behaving "like mo-fos"

and I'm not talking about the customers.

I don't vape or smoke or anything like that, but damn. A lot of people do and assumed they had strict controls and standards.

[Hestia]

8. Agreed - I guess everyone didn't get their cut, so now they have to eliminate the product

Haven't people been vaping for years with no complications? Even THC carts? Why now? what's different? I'd like to read a comprehensive story with no opinion or scolding or pearl clutching. Actual data from reliable labs and scientists. Believe it not, one of the best is Good Housekeeping Institute. I'd trust anything they studied. Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval actually means something and companies vie for that title.

Wouldn't that be cool - all the products that Good Housekeeping has studies, vaps could get on the list? Something to definitely something to think about.

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/institute/about-the-institute/a19748212/good-housekeeping-institute-product-reviews/

[SCVDem]

4. At least with cigarettes

they just got dry and tasted strange.

Better living through chemistry!

[SunSeeker]

5. K & R for exposure.

[LuvNewcastle]

9. All I know is that my vaping lungs work a hell of a lot better

than my smoking lungs did. I was told I was going to have to be on oxygen for the rest of my life, but the problem went away when I quit smoking and started vaping. I had quit before by vaping, but I went back to smoking. I'm done with smoking for good now. Don't want to roll around an oxygen tank everywhere I go.

[Skittles]

10. best advice is to not do either

I smoked for decades, I know, I know, but - just don't do any of it

[GulfCoast66]

11. And the hatred of deregulation continues in this country. And what a shame with vaping!

Had it been regulated as a smoking secession or harm reduction device it could have saved/extended countless lives.

I know several people who’s health has been greatly improved by starting vaping rather than smoking when they first became available. Their doctors did not wholeheartedly recommend it, but told the if it is smoking or vaping the they should vape. One has become nicotine free since. I had to use Chantix to stop oral tobacco. Fortunately it worked and the dreaded dreams were actually great for me! But I understand how hard it is to quit.

But of course there was absolutely no standards set or regulations passed for vaping. And industry did what industry does when allowed. Kill people for profit. Just like with cigarettes.

And now the pseudo concern will start up but nothing will be done to restrict the massive profits being made. The House May try, but it will die with regulation hating republicans.

[mr_lebowski]

12. Nothing to do with the recent sicknesses/deaths ... those were due to black market THC cartridges

Tainted with Vitamin E which is an oil that is terrible on your lungs to inhale.

Only 13% of victims claimed to ONLY use nicotine, and given many of those affected were quite young, the real number who vaped nicotine only is likely much lower, perhaps 0% ... due to the kids not wanting parents/others to know they were consuming THC.

Almost none of those affected claimed to be Juul users either.

Note also that anything that's not part of the prescribed formulation can be called a 'contaminant'. If you produce what you label as peanut butter sandwichs, but they're actually peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, you have a 'contaminant' in the form of the jelly.

'Contaminant' doesn't automatically mean 'something terrible for the consumers health'.