--- title: "The CEO of Juul Just Quit, Bowing to Pressure from White House" description: "The CEO of popular vape brand Juul Labs, Kevin Burns, just quit after drawing harsh criticism from regulators about allegedly marketing to children." date: "2019-09-25" modified: "2019-09-25" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/ceo-juul-quit" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "e-cigarettes" - "ecigarettes" - "juul" - "vaping" --- # The CEO of Juul Just Quit, Bowing to Pressure from White House ![The CEO of popular vape brand Juul Labs, Kevin Burns, just quit after drawing harsh criticism from regulators about allegedly marketing to children.]() *\Image: JUUL/Victor Tangermann\* More bad news for the future of vaping. The chief executive of popular vape brand Juul Labs, Kevin Burns, [just quit](). Juul has enjoyed the number one spot as the most popular e-cigarette brand in the U.S. for years. But the brand is drawing increased scrutiny from regulators about whether it marketed its products, including flavored vape pods, to children. The Trump administration proposed an [outright ban]() of the sale of flavored e-cigarette products earlier this month. Juul announced today it will not fight the White House's proposal, according to *The New York Times* — despite estimating the move could reduce company sales by 80 percent. Not only that, according to the *Times*, Juul will end its "Make the Switch" campaign, an effort to make e-cigarettes look less harmful than actual cigarettes. Juul also announced it will end talks about merging with tobacco juggernaut Philip Morris International. It's the latest chapter in a saga of escalating regulatory pressure against the e-cigarette industry. A number of states including [Massachusetts](), [New York](), and [Michigan]() recently imposed bans of flavored e-cigarette products. Making matters worse, U.S. officials [announced]() the first death from a mysterious vaping-related illness back in August. In an interview at the time with *CBS*, Burns [blamed the vape-related illness on THC](). [At least five]() people have been killed from the "vape disease" since then. An executive from Altria, a big tobacco company that owns a 35 percent stake in Juul, will take over from Burns. ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()