---
title: "The FDA Just Raided the Headquarters of E-Cigarette Maker JUUL"
description: "The FDA just announced it raided the headquarters of popular e-cigarette maker Juul for selling vapes to underage users. And they got plenty of warnings."
date: "2018-10-02"
modified: "2018-10-02"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/fda-raid-juul"
categories:
  - "Future Society"
tags:
  - "e-cigarettes"
  - "fda"
  - "juul"
  - "the digest"
  - "vapes"
  - "vaping"
---

# The FDA Just Raided the Headquarters of E-Cigarette Maker JUUL

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/fda-raid-juul-e-cigarette.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Juul\</em\>*

## VAPORIZED

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) just raided the headquarters of popular e-cigarette maker JUUL Labs in San-Francisco.

It seized thousands of pages of documents about the vape maker's sales and marketing strategies, according to the [*Wall Street Journal*](<https://www.wsj.com/articles/fda-conducted-surprise-inspection-of-juuls-headquarters-1538496393?ns=prod/accounts-wsj>). The raid comes on the tail of [a huge effort](<https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm620184.htm>) by the agency to stop e-cigarette makers from marketing to minors.

## PRECIOUS JUULS

The FDA has been on Juul's case [since April 2018](<https://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/NewsEvents/ucm605278.htm>), [telling it off](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/fda-vape-flavors>) for targeting users under the age of 21. Earlier this month, the agency [gave Juul 60 days](<https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm620184.htm>) to get its act together.

Juul holds considerable power in the e-cigarette market. According to a recent Wells Fargo analysis as reported by [*CNBC*](<https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/02/juul-e-cigarette-sales-have-surged-over-the-past-year.html>), Juul's sales skyrocketed 783 percent in just one year; experts estimate the company controls 68 percent of the e-cigarette market, according to data compiled [by *Bloomberg*](<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-29/e-cigarette-maker-juul-labs-is-raising-1-2-billion>).

The FDA got interested because adolescents are such huge fans. The [National Institute on Drug Abuse](<https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/infographics/teens-e-cigarettes>) found that 7 in 10 teens are exposed to e-cig ads. Even the [*New York Times*](<https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/02/health/vaping-ecigarettes-addiction-teen.html>) and the [Wall Street Journal](<https://www.wsj.com/articles/schools-parents-fight-a-juul-e-cigarette-epidemic-1522677246>) have reported that vaping's popularity has taken off among teens.

## COUGHING FIT

The jury is still out whether using e-cigarettes is bad for your health, especially for teens who weren't smokers before. Vaping was found to leave [toxic chemicals](<https://www.sciencenews.org/article/health-risks-e-cigarettes-emerge>) in the lungs. But there's a lot we don't know yet.

The unfortunate reality: teens do what they want, but they often don't know what's good or bad for them, either. It's time for us to do a better job at parenting them, parents and governing bodies alike.

**READ MORE:** [FDA Raids Vape Maker Juul, Seizes 'Thousands' of Documents](<https://gizmodo.com/fda-raids-vape-maker-juul-seizes-thousands-of-document-1829467887?rev=1538501568530&utm_source=gizmodo_twitter&utm_campaign=socialflow_gizmodo_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow>) \[Gizmodo\]

***More on e-cigarettes: [The FDA Just Threatened to Crack Down on E-Cig Companies Like Juul](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/fda-vape-flavors>)***

## 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](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)