House panel to hold hearing on Juul role in youth nicotine addiction

The House Oversight Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy will hold two days worth of hearings this week on whether electronic cigarette company Juul Labs, Inc. has played a role in youth nicotine addiction. 

Two Juul Labs executives, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer James Monsees and Chief Administration Officer Ashley Gould will testify Thursday.

Others who will appear before Congress Wednesday and Thursday include doctors and anti-tobacco and anti-vaping advocates. 

{mosads}Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who has been outspoken on the issue in the Senate, will also testify. 

A Juul spokesperson told the Hill in a statement about measures the company has taken to combat the matter such as stopping the sale of non-tobacco and non-menthol based flavored JUULPods to retail store partners, enhancing its online age-verification process and shutting down its Facebook and Instagram accounts.

“We share the subcommittee’s concerns about youth vaping and welcome the opportunity to appear and share information about our commitment to eliminate combustible cigarettes and our aggressive, industry leading actions to combat youth usage,” the spokesperson said.

The House panel last month began investigating Juul, requesting documents including those regarding marketing strategy, its impact on minors and information on its product health effects.