Juul plans to officially launch in Canada this month, according to a recent press release. The vape industry giant, recently reported by Neilsen and Wells Fargo as holding 72% market share, announced products will be available for sale in Canada in September. Convenience stores and vape shops across the country will carry Juul devices and pods. The press release lists Juul Starter Kits at $64.99 CAD on the site Juul.ca. At the time of this writing, the site is a landing page with a form to join the newsletter.
Oh Canada
Both the Juul Canada landing page and the press release state the company’s aim is “to help the country’s five million adult smokers switch from combustible cigarettes.” Juul manufactures closed-pod vape systems and a variety of flavored nicotine pods. Pods currently come in 5% nicotine strength per ~0.7mL pod. The US site also carries 3% strength pods as of August 2018. Juul has not said if or when 3% pods will be available in Canada.
“We want to help Canadian smokers on their switching journey,” said Juul Canada General Manager, Mike Nederhoff. Cigarettes cause 45,000 deaths in Canada annually, Juul’s statement reads. The Canadian Minister of Health estimated that death toll back in June. Juul claims, according to Health Canada, vaping is “less harmful than smoking,” and reduces toxic chemical exposure, including those that cause cancer. They continue to press the importance of this information for adult smokers who want to quit. The word adult is key in Juul marketing materials these days.
Stopping Teens Still a Priority
The company also took this press announcement as another opportunity to also reinforce their position on teen use. Juul has already released multiple prior statements and pledged to launch a multi-million dollar campaign to reduce teen use of their products (they even call it ‘juuling). Yet some remain skeptical of their intentions.
“Combatting (sic) teenage use is as important as providing a satisfying alternative to adult smokers,” Chief Administrative Officer, Ashley Gould, said in the press release. “[W]e are developing and pioneering both technology and programs focused on the prevention of underage use of our products.” Juul Labs plans to release a Bluetooth-enabled version of their pod vape next year. With Bluetooth capability, devices could easily and remotely be shut off in certain areas, like school grounds.
