Vaping brand with flavours loved by teens set for big UK expansion

The world’s leading vaping brand is planning a significant UK expansion, including the marketing of fruit flavours that critics have said are designed to appeal to teenagers.

Juul, which has been stocked in Boots, Sainsbury’s and specialist e-cigarette stores since last July, now intends to offer its products in around 55,000 British outlets, the company has confirmed.

Among the flavours it will offer more widely are apple, mango and berries, despite ceasing selling these products in the US following an outcry that they were luring young people into vaping.

However, the company said none of its products are marketed at children and that it does not pay “social influencers” to promote them.

This comes as a leading teaching body warned about the rise of vaping in schools.

Shaun Fenton, chair of the Headmasters and Headmistresses’ Conference, which represents top public schools, told The Sunday Times: “Children are not smoking - they are vaping instead.

“They see online personalities blowing smoke rings, which were cool in the 1940s and are cool again now.

“Kids are following them on social media.” Juul became the number one e-cigarette brand at Sainsbury’s within eight weeks of starting sales last year.

The company’s founders, Juul Labs, Adam Bowen and James Monsees, have became the first e-cigarette billionaires last year after Altria, which makes Marlboro cigarettes, bought a 35 per cent stake.

Juul pulled its fruit flavours from US stores after e-cigarette use by secondary school pupils rose by 78 per cent between 2017 and 2018.

A spokesperson for the company said: "JUUL Lab’s mission is to improve the lives of the world’s one billion adult smokers by eliminating smoking, the leading cause of preventable death. We are adamant that no young person or non-smoker should ever try our product.

“Since launching in the UK last year, we have implemented strict policies to prevent anyone underage accessing our product: exceeding legal and regulatory requirements."

Public Health England supports the use of e-cigarettes where they help people give up tobacco, citing evidence which suggests the products are, at most, five per cent as harmful as traditional smoking.

Last month a Daily Telegraph investigation found Instagram was promoting vape products to children as young as 13, using cartoons.