Juul Offers Over $100M In Incentives To Retailers To Adopt Electronic Age Verification Systems
The company has drawn fire from agencies, Congress and states over the teen vaping epidemic. By May 2021, Juul will stop selling through any retailer that hasn’t adopted the age-verification system, which blocks the sale until the customer's license has been scanned.
The Wall Street Journal:
Juul Introduces Checkout System To Combat Underage Purchases
E-cigarette startup Juul Labs Inc., facing blame for a surge in teenage vaping, is offering more than $100 million in incentives to retailers to install a new electronic age-verification system intended to curb illegal sales to minors. The modification to point-of-sale software blocks each Juul purchase until the shopper’s driver’s license or other government identification has been scanned. It also limits each purchase to a maximum of one vaporizer and four refill packs. So far, Juul said, Cumberland Farms Inc., QuikTrip Corp. and other chains representing 40,000 outlets have agreed to adopt the system. (Maloney, 8/28)
In other news —
Bloomberg:
Philip Morris, Altria Deal Seen As Public Health ‘Nightmare’
Philip Morris International Inc. and Altria Group Inc.’s potential remarriage has public-health groups concerned about one behemoth dominating the most popular products used to get a nicotine fix. The potential combined tobacco group with a market value of nearly $200 billion would create a patchwork family consisting of the three leading brands in cigarettes, vaping and heated tobacco. (Gretler, 8/28)
