JUUL Labs is sponsoring independent research on the impact of electronic cigarettes and vaping devices through a $7.5 million grant to a Nashville medical college. Meharry Medical College announced last week it will launch a new Center for the Study of Social Determinants of Health. The center will examine the social factors that influence public health and well being related to the emerging prevalence of e-cigarettes.
The study will be funded by JUUL Labs, a big name in the vaping industry that has come under intense scrutiny amid accusations that it targets youth with its advertising. JUUL said in a company statement: “As we’ve long said, there are many questions about the health impact of vapor products, and JUUL products in particular, that only a robust body of public health research can start to answer. We are committed to contributing to and supporting independent and peer-reviewed scientific research programs that assess the harm-reduction potential of JUUL products, including their impact on the individual user, their ability to switch adult smokers from combustible cigarettes, and the net-population impact on public health.”
