Juul’s CEO stepped down on Wednesday following backlash against the e-cigarette company’s marketing practices and a wave of illnesses linked to vaping in recent weeks.
Kevin Burns will be replaced by K.C. Crosthwaite, an executive from Altria, which owns a major stake in Juul.
Juul’s future is at risk, the incoming CEO said in a statement Wednesday, “due to unacceptable levels of youth usage and eroding public confidence in our industry.”
Juul said it does not plan to fight the Trump administration’s flavored e-cigarette ban and will suspend broadcast, print and digital advertising efforts in the U.S.
The leadership shift at Juul comes as state governments are cracking down on vaping companies, including Juul, which dominates the e-cigarette market. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker declared a public health emergency in his state Tuesday and ordered a four-month ban on the sale of vaping products. New York and Michigan banned the sale of flavored e-cigarettes earlier this month, and the Trump administration says it plans to put similar regulations in place on the federal level.
Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told a congressional subcommittee Tuesday that the agency expects to see hundreds of additional lung injuries linked to vaping beyond the 530 confirmed and probable cases that the CDC announced last week. Nine people have died so far from vaping-related illness.
While many of the patients who contracted mysterious lung illness smoked counterfeit THC oil devices, the CDC cautions that no single ingredient has been implicated in the agency’s investigation thus far.
