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Juul CEO steps down, company promises to follow Trump ban

By SARAH OWERMOHLE

Juul announced this morning that its CEO would step down and that the company would not lobby the Trump administration on its looming ban of flavored vapor products.

The nation's largest e-cigarette maker also said it will suspend all broadcast, print and digital product advertising in the United States.

The changes come amid increasing pressure from Washington and states over an "epidemic" of teen vaping fueled by flavored products. At the same time, the industry is under heightened scrutiny amid the outbreak of a mysterious vaping-linked lung disease that has sickened hundreds and killed nine so far. Officials are still investigating the cause of the outbreak, but it appears to be linked largely to black market vapes.

Juul CEO Kevin Burns will immediately be replaced by longtime Altria executive K.C. Crosthwaite. He joined the tobacco giant when it was still Philip Morris in the 1990s, and until recently headed its growth division. Altria bought a 35 percent stake in Juul last year. A congressional oversight panel has been probing that deal.

Juul said it will refrain from lobbying the Trump administration as FDA moves to formally roll out the flavor ban the president announced this month. The company said it will fully support and comply with the policy, which is expected in the coming weeks.

Philip Morris International, which split from Altria in the early 2000s, also announced this morning that the two companies had ended recent talks to rejoin the companies. Instead, it will focus on their own smokeless tobacco product lines in the United States.