This archive report was first published on 30 October 2019.
October 30, 2019, marked a significant day in the world of e-cigarettes as a former top executive of Juul, Siddharth Breja, came forward with a shocking allegation. In a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Breja claimed that the e-cigarette giant sold at least one million contaminated mint-flavored nicotine pods.
According to the lawsuit, Breja was fired on March 21, 2019, in retaliation for whistle-blowing and objecting to the shipment of the contaminated and expired pods. He alleged that the company's top executives were indifferent to safety and quality-control issues, putting the lives of millions of consumers, many of them children and teens, at risk.
At a meeting in February, then-chief executive Kevin Burns made a disturbing comment, saying, “Half our customers are drunk and vaping like mo-fo’s” and wouldn't “notice the quality of our pods.” This statement highlights the company's disregard for consumer safety.
However, Juul spokesman Ted Kwong dismissed Breja's claims as baseless. He stated that Breja was terminated in March 2019 because he failed to demonstrate the leadership qualities needed in his role. Kwong also claimed that the allegations concerning safety issues with Juul products are equally meritless, and that the company had already investigated the underlying manufacturing issue and determined the product met all applicable specifications.
