Under Ever-Intensifying Scrutiny From Government, Juul Tries To Embrace Public Health Crusader Image
Juul has launched a new $10 million ad campaign focusing on the pitch that e-cigarettes are helping curb the country's smoking habits. But experts are saying the new image relies on revisionist history.
The New York Times:
Juul’s Convenient Smoke Screen
Juul Labs, the company behind the insanely popular vaping device, has a message for the nation’s estimated 37.8 million adult smokers: It really, really, really cares about them. And it wants them (and only them — got that, teens?) to try vaping instead. “For smokers. By design,” blares the company’s website. A new $10 million TV ad campaign, called “Make the Switch,” echoes that theme, featuring testimonials from ex-smokers, all comfortably above the legal smoking age, who have swapped their cigarettes for a Juul. (Roose, 1/11)
In other health industry news —
Stat:
Digital Health Is Attracting Huge Investments, But Will Patients Buy It?
For two days in the desert, its exponential growth was on full display at the Consumer Electronics Show this week. What was once an exclusive showcase for must-have gadgets for your home, car, and pocket is now a place where doctors mingle with giant technology companies that are promising, with a straighter face than ever, to make health care their top priority. Attendees discussed efforts to use artificially intelligent voice technology to diagnose the onset of stroke or mental illness; others demonstrated software programs that help Alzheimer’s patients recover lost memories, get toddlers to brush their teeth like dentists, and push diabetes patients to drive down their blood sugar and improve their exercise habits. (Ross, 1/11)
The Associated Press:
Surgeons Fear Pelvic Mesh Lawsuits Will Spook Patients
Doctors who specialize in female pelvic medicine say lawsuits by four states, including Washington and California, over products used to treat pelvic floor disorders and incontinence might scare patients away from the best treatment options — or maybe even push the products off the market. Sixty-three Washington surgeons signed a letter to state Attorney General Bob Ferguson , arguing his consumer-protection lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson and its Ethicon Inc. subsidiary is off-base. (Johnson, 1/10)
