Juul Wants People to Vape, but Not at Its Own Office

An odd story about Juul and vaping is in the news Monday: The Wall Street Journal reports that the company is in the unusual position of trying to convince its own workers to stop vaping at the office. However, Juul is apparently not having much luck on that front. “It may feel nonsensical to prohibit at-work use of the very products we work hard to create and promote,” then-CEO Kevin Burns wrote to employees last year. “But the bottom line is we need to comply with legal requirements the same as any company.” The memo went out after officials from the city of San Francisco started asking questions, but the Journal reports that workers at Juul largely continued to vape, albeit more discreetly.

As a result, Juul had to put new rules into effect with penalties: a warning for a first offense, docked bonuses for second and third offenses, and termination for a fourth. Juul is "committed to maintaining a smoke and vapor-free work-place in compliance with state and local laws," says a company statement to Business Insider, which followed up on the Journal story. Gizmodo, meanwhile, greeted the news with snark. "Who’d have thought the company that developed a discreet and highly addictive nicotine product would have trouble preventing its very own employees from using it in the workplace?" wonders Catie Keck. (More vaping stories.)