Study Demonstrates Smokers Who Used Non-Tobacco-Flavored JUUL Products Were More Likely To Switch From Cigarettes Than Those Who Used Tobacco-Flavored JUUL Products

Poster presented at 6th Global Forum on Nicotine, Warsaw, Poland

WARSAW, Poland and SAN FRANCISCO, June 14, 2019 /CNW/ -- JUUL Labs today announced results from a study that found adult smokers who primarily used non-tobacco-flavored JUUL products were more likely than those who primarily used tobacco-flavored JUUL products to have successfully switched from smoking combustible cigarettes over a 6-month period. The findings were presented as a poster at the 6th Global Forum on Nicotine in Warsaw, Poland.

The study followed more than 37,000 US adult smokers who had recently purchased JUUL products at retail or on the company's e-commerce platform. Participants completed online surveys over 6 months.

"There has been an active discussion about the role of flavors in supporting adult smokers who want to switch from combustible cigarettes and, at JUUL Labs, we are committed to driving research to inform these discussions," said Dr. Erik M. Augustson, PhD, MPH, Senior Director of Behavioral Research and Interventions at JUUL Labs. "We wanted to assess how flavor preference at various time points—30-days, 60-days and 90-days after initiating JUUL use—is associated with the likelihood of smoking abstinence in the future. For example, how does a person's flavor preference at 60 days impact their likelihood to be vaping rather than smoking at 90 days? These results show that, for the study cohort, use of JUUL products in non-tobacco flavors was associated with higher switching rates compared to those who used JUUL products in tobacco flavors."

The study, "Flavored JUUL Use and Smoking Abstention Among Adult Smokers," analyzed data from a subset of 21,332 smokers aged 21+ years who had purchased a JUUL starter kit and completed at least two follow-up assessments. Study participants completed baseline and 30-day, 60-day, 90-day and 180-day follow-up assessments via online surveys. The assessments asked study participants about JUUL flavor use and switching—defined as no smoking, not a single puff, for the previous 30 days prior to the assessment. The study was designed to assess what flavors were being used and how the use of flavors was associated with smoking behavior over time: that is, the likelihood of abstaining from smoking and switching to vaping at the next follow-up survey. JUUL Labs commissioned and funded the study, Centre for Substance Use Research (CSUR) independently designed and administered the survey underlying this data analysis.

Across 30-, 60- and 90-day assessments, use of mint/menthol and non-tobacco/menthol-based (NTM) flavors, compared with the use of tobacco flavors, were positively associated with past 30-day smoking abstinence at the 60-, 90- and 180-day assessments. Adult smokers who primarily used mint/menthol and NTM flavors were 14% and 7% more likely, respectively, to have switched than those primarily using tobacco flavors across the 6-month study period.

"These results add to a growing body of evidence that suggest that use of vapor products in nontobacco flavors may potentially help adult smokers switch from cigarettes," Dr. Augustson said.

For more information on the data presented, please visit jliscience.com.

About JUUL Labs, Inc
JUUL Labs is committed to improving the lives of the world's one billion adult smokers by eliminating cigarettes, the leading cause of preventable death in the world. JUUL Labs' products are designed to help adult smokers switch.

JUUL Labs is equally committed to combating underage use of nicotine and tobacco products. The company launched a comprehensive action plan to address youth access, appeal, and use of JUUL products which includes restricting the sale of non-tobacco and non-menthol-based flavored JUULpods from traditional retail, enhancing our online age-verification, improving retailer compliance, eliminating the use of Facebook and Instagram accounts and utilizing technology-based solutions to prevent youth use. We also actively support Tobacco 21 legislation to raise the minimum-purchasing age for all tobacco products, including vapor products, to 21. For more information on our mission and youth prevention initiatives, please visit https://newsroom.juul.com/.

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SOURCE JUUL Labs, Inc