Topline: Electronic cigarette maker Juul Labs has raised $325 million in new funding to expand internationally as the company contends with regulatory hurdles in the U.S. Key Background: Juul has been battling regulators on all fronts as lawmakers look to tamp down on the rise of teen vaping, which anti-tobacco groups say is getting youth who otherwise would never have smoked cigarettes addicted to nicotine. Juul and other vaping companies have sued the Federal Drug Administration to push back the deadline to submit applications for approval to sell e-cigarettes. And in San Francisco, where Juul is based, the company is spending millions to fight a measure that bans all e-cigarette sales in the city. Tangent: The FDA is investigating nearly 130 reports of seizures over the last decade in e-cigarette users. No link between the two has been established, and scientists do not yet understand the long-term health effects of vaping. Haley Kim contributed reporting to this story.
Electronic cigarette manufacturer Juul Labs has raised $38bnm to aid international expansion, as the company continues to battle domestic regulators who are attempting to halt the rise of teen vaping. Anti-tobacco groups claim youths who would otherwise never have smoked cigarettes are becoming addicted to nicotine due to vapes, while the Food and Drug Administration is investigating almost 130 reports of seizures in the last decade from e-cigarette users. The move comes less than a year after Juul was valued at $325 by Pitchbook.