Juul Withdraws Petition Against Israeli Marketing Ban of Its Full-Nicotine Pods

E-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. has withdrawn a February petition filed to the Supreme Court of Israel against a law passed by the Israeli parliament in late December.

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Spearheaded by the Israeli Ministry of Health, the law restricted the advertising and marketing of smoking paraphernalia in the country and extended existing tobacco regulations to vaping devices that do not include tobacco, such as Juul. The law also included a private clause that forbade the selling and marketing of vaping products with a nicotine content of over 20 milligrams, cementing a personal edict signed in August by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also serves as Israel's Minister of Health.

When Juul first launched in Israel in May, the company offered pods with 59 mg of nicotine per pod, the same as the pods it markets in the U.S. Following Netanyahu's ban, the company was forced to switch to reduced-nicotine pods.

In its petition to the Supreme Court, Juul claimed the clause was added to the law in an illicit manner, without enabling the company to defend itself first, and that it infringed on Juul's freedom of occupation.

The company is also contesting the full law passed in December in court.

Juul decided to withdraw the petition after the court stated that the aforementioned clause would be discussed in May as part of the company’s petition against the full version of the law.

In a statement sent to Calcalist Tuesday, a Juul spokesman said that the Israeli government has made a commitment to retract the limiting regulations passed in December after the April election. This was the goal of the petition. The court has permitted Juul to re-submit the petition should the government fail to make right on its commitment, he said, adding that Juul will continue working to offer a vaping alternative to adult smokers in Israel.