Juul will stop selling some of its flavored pods to more than 90,000 retail stores, including convenience stores and specialty vape shops, the company said in a Tuesday press release.
Data from the e-cigarette company shows selling flavored pods attracted underage users, which the company said was never its intention. New U.S. Food and Drug Administration rules requires Juul to follow these changed policies to help stop young people from using the product.
Only Mint, Menthol, Classic Tobacco and Virginia Tobacco will be sold in stores. The Mango, Fruit, Creme and Cucumber pods will only be available on the Juul website where there will be additional age-verification measures.
To complete an order online, the company said customers will need to provide their name, date of birth, address and the last four digits of their social security number. This will then be verified by a third party and cross-referenced with public records to confirm customers are at least 21 to prevent underage buyers per new FDA regulations. Even though the legal age is 18, Juul online is from California, where the legal age is 21.
Customers will be limited to two devices and 15 pod packages per month and no more than ten devices per year, according to the press release. Customers are required to input their information when they create an online account to make an order. Juul is also increasing its secret shopper program to help with reinforcement, the company said.
Retailers who are caught by the FDA violating these standards will receive consequences and could risk being permanently caught off if they have multiple violations, Juul said.
In the future, Juul will accept orders for the restricted flavor pods from retailers that prove they can comply with the new system.
