On May 18, according to Canadian media reports, Rona Ambrose, former interim leader of the Conservative Party and health minister of Canada, has joined the board of Juul labs.
Juul chief executive KC crosswaite announced the board’s appointment Friday in an email to employees.
Crosswaite wrote that during Ambrose’s tenure as health minister, she helped develop regulations to combat the marketing of seasoned tobacco products that appeal to young people, and her government taxed cigarettes.
Ambrose’s position on the board, he said, would help the company try to win the trust of its shareholders.
Ambrose served as interim leader of the Conservative Party and official opposition party from 2015 to 2017, and as Edmonton District councillor when he retired from politics from 2004 to 2017.
Ambrose said in an email statement that smoking remains the leading cause of preventable deaths in the world, and supporting adult smokers’ potential to reduce harm is an important goal for individuals and health systems.
“But these new technologies will not succeed in eradicating cigarettes unless businesses and regulators work together to successfully address the use of minors. We have to solve these two problems at the same time. “
Juul, a U.S. – based e-cigarette company, has the largest market share in the country. It entered the Canadian market in the same year, with revenues of $2 billion in 2018.
The website of Health Canada points out that electronic smoking is less harmful than smoking, and people who switch from smoking to electronic smoking can get overall health improvement in the short term.
But it also pointed out that due to the high concentration of e-cigarettes in products, the increase in e-cigarettes among young people and the increased dependence on nicotine are serious concerns, which are two things that Juul faces strong criticism.
According to a recent study by tobacco management science, nicotine is highly addictive. Compared with cigarettes, Juul cigarette bombs provide higher levels of nicotine, which is more easily absorbed into the blood than cigarettes.
The company has also been sued in a number of lawsuits, including wrongful death. The allegations allege that Juul deliberately treats young non-smokers as customers, which are explicitly denied by US companies and their Canadian counterparts.
Ambrose said in 2014 that at present, we continue to urge Canadians not to use these electronic cigarettes in the absence of scientific evidence to prove their safety or effectiveness.
At that time, when she was the Minister of health, she first proposed regulations on products and required research on their risks and hazards.
‘we’ve heard that e-cigarettes may be an entry point for teenagers to start smoking, but they also have the potential to be used as smoking cessation tools,’ she said.
Earlier this year, the company said it would stop selling its flavored tobacco bombs in Canadian stores following action in the US in 2018.
Juul has two retail stores in Ambrose’s home province of Alberta, and customers must be age tested to enter the Juul store.
During the coronavirus pandemic, electronic atomization was also subject to additional scrutiny.
In March, the Canadian Academy of Pediatrics warned that smoking electronic cigarettes and cigarettes can weaken the lungs, affect cardiovascular health and make people more vulnerable to severe coronavirus infection or complications.
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