JUUL Labs releases 1.5 percent nicotine JUULpods in Canada to provide country's five million smokers with a third nicotine-strength option

The 1.5 percent nicotine JUULpod, designed to give smokers greater choice in their switching journey, will be made widely available in Canadian market

TORONTO, April 2, 2019 /CNW/ - JUUL Labs today announced a new nicotine-strength option for current smokers seeking to switch from combustible cigarettes. As part of its mission to eliminate the use of cigarettes in Canada, JUUL Labs is making 1.5 percent nicotine JUULpods available across the country. JUULpods containing five and three percent nicotine by weight are already available.

JUUL Labs was founded with the simple mission to impact the lives of the world's one billion adult smokers – and five million in Canada – by providing a satisfying alternative to combustible cigarettes.

Health Canada states that "vaping is less harmful than smoking." A recent study, presented by JUUL Labs at The Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, found equivalent reductions in select short-term biomarkers of exposure (BOE) between adult smokers who exclusively switched to JUUL products and those who abstained from smoking over a five-day period.

"We're excited to offer more options to Canada's five million adult smokers," said Mike Nederhoff, Canada General Manager, JUUL Labs. "We know that choice can help adult smokers switch away from combustible cigarettes by giving them the chance to determine the nicotine-strength option that works best for them." 

Every adult smoker has a different switching journey and options can help them find what works best for them – including variety in flavours and nicotine-strengths. Two recent survey-based behavioral studies conducted by the Centre for Substance Use Research (CSUR), an independent, U.K.-based research center, of both retail and online customers, indicated that non-tobacco-flavored JUULpods are helping adult smokers in their switching journey from combustible cigarettes. After 90 days of JUUL use, adult smokers who primarily used Mint or Mango demonstrated the highest switch rates from combustible cigarettes, respectively. Our diverse product offering helps adult smokers switch and stay switched.

JUUL Labs offers six JUULpod flavours to adult smokers in Canada: Virginia Tobacco, Mint, Mango, Vanilla, Fruit, and Cucumber. All six flavours are currently available in the five, three and 1.5 percent nicotine strengths at convenience stores, vape shops, and on JUUL Labs' e-commerce site at JUUL.ca.

JUUL Labs is also serious about youth prevention, and has implemented a variety of activities designed to prevent youth access to vaping products, including:

• Launching the "What Parents Need to Know" parent education campaign in Canada to provide more information to parents and keep vaping products away from youth.
  
  
• In Quebec, calling on the Quebec Government to raise the legal age for purchase and possession of e-cigarettes and vaping products to 21, to bring it in line with the proposed age-gate for cannabis. This act would help to restrict youth access by reducing purchase and resale to minors.
  
  
• Online, using unique ID match and age verification technology to make sure minors can't access and purchase the products. An adult signature at time of delivery is required for all deliveries in Canada. JUUL Labs' online age-restrictions are more robust than the Ontario Cannabis Store.
  
  
• All retail partners must ask for identification when selling nicotine products. This year, JUUL Labs launched a secret shopping program to ensure stores are complying and will report non-complying retailers to Health Canada and appropriate provincial governments.
  
  
• All products are clearly labelled as containing nicotine and packaging includes nicotine warning messaging, including a "Skull and Crossbones" warning decal which is described in Canadian packaging regulations for consumer chemicals but has not yet been applied to the vaping industry. This graphic warning is voluntary; studies by researchers at the University of Waterloo indicate that graphic warning labels are one of the most effective measures at preventing youth uptake of restricted products.
  
  
• JUUL Labs' contracts with stores and other wholesale customers require them to take several actions to prevent access by youth, including bulk purchase restrictions to prevent black market re-sale.

About JUUL Labs

JUUL Labs was founded to provide the world's one billion adult smokers a satisfying alternative to smoking combustible cigarettes. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the world. JUUL Labs' products are designed to help smokers switch. For more information, please visit www.juul.ca.

SOURCE JUUL Labs

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