Colorado Teen Sues JUUL Labs Over Nicotine Addiction And Injuries

Updated 10:19 a.m.

A Colorado resident is suing JUUL Labs. Nineteen-year-old Mohammed Aldawoodi alleges his use of the popular brand of e-cigarette has caused him to suffer from nicotine addiction and severe injuries.

Lawyers for Aldawoodi filed the suit in the U.S. District Court in Colorado. JUUL Labs is based in San Francisco, California.

The suit says the teenager first began to use JUUL about three years ago when he was still a minor.  In addition to his nicotine addiction, he said his use caused "severe and permanent personal injuries, pain, suffering and emotional distress.”

The complaint argues the e-cigarette giant fraudulently said its product did not have a high risk of nicotine addiction in adolescents, targeted adolescents with misleading marketing campaigns and sold JUUL pods to minors over the internet.

Aldawoodi’s attorney, Seth Katz, declined to comment and said he’s not able to discuss the facts of the case at this point.

JUUL has not yet responded to a request for comment.

In recent months, the company has faced an increasing number of lawsuits like this one. A class-action suit was filed in Florida in May on behalf of a 15-year-old who became addicted to JUUL, alleging it caused her to suffer seizures. A woman from Florida filed the first wrongful death lawsuit against the company in early October. She said her 18-year-old son died due to electronic cigarettes, which sentenced her to “a life of sadness.”

Three school districts in the Midwest also filed suit against Juul in early October, accusing it of putting students in danger and causing educators to divert time and money to battle an epidemic of nicotine addiction.

A number of state attorneys general, including Phil Weiser in Colorado, have also opened investigations into the company.

Read The Complaint