
Juul Co-Founder James Monsees Is Stepping Down - coloneltcb
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniemlee/juul-james-monsees-resigns
======
ocdtrekkie
Kate Conger pointed out on Twitter that today's a really good day to dump your
corporate bad news.

------
WilTimSon
I don't like e-cigarettes one way or another but I have to say, I admire the
decision to step down from any CEO. Too many of them hang on to the product
for a long time even when they're already billionaires (or at least in the
higher echelons of multimillionaires.) I'd much rather see the more successful
people exercise mobility and try their hand at new projects. If you have the
skills and knowledge to make a revolutionary product, why stop at one?

~~~
lonelappde
Bezos has been CEO for 25 years. Did he stop at one product?

~~~
WilTimSon
Well, if you remain a CEO at the same company but keep making new products,
that's good. I'm talking more about CEO's like Zuckerberg, who've been sitting
on their throne for years without any fresh input into the creative field.
Much as I dislike the guy, surely he has some ideas to try.

------
catacombs
But how much will his exit package be?

------
apta
Unethical and dangerous company. Hopefully the entire industry goes down.

------
exogeny
Even if I ignore all the different kinds of high school outreach they did,
it’s obvious that they designed it to look like a USB stick quite
intentionally. Fuck this guy.

~~~
leetcrew
first of all, what is wrong with intentionally making it look like a USB
stick? second, is it possible that a flat rectangular box just happens to be
the ideal form factor for a small electronic device meant to go in someone's
pocket? of all the nefarious intentions attributed to juul, this seems like an
odd one.

~~~
neaden
It's to make it easier for teenagers to sneak into schools. This product was
designed from the ground up with the goal of getting teens to use it.

~~~
drcross
That's a tenuous link to make. Vaping has contributed to harm reduction for a
lot of people trying to get of cigarettes and they should be applauded for
that.

~~~
ThePowerOfFuet
You know full well that isn't all of it.

People don't choose mango flavour to stop smoking.

~~~
stronglikedan
> People don't choose mango flavour to stop smoking.

Of course they do!

Fruit flavors help reduce the palatability of tobacco. I specifically chose
them for that reason, and now my once cherished tobacco tastes disgusting, as
intended. That one cheat cigarette while drinking is no longer desirable.

While I share the sentiment of the others responding to you, I won't echo it
out of civility, but they're correct. People like you have just made it
exponentially harder for people who want to quit, while doing nothing to keep
vapes out of the hands of teens who want them.

~~~
pinot
In particular, Juul's tobacco carts tasted horrible. Same with their menthol.

------
allovernow
Sort of off topic, but aside from addictive potential there is very little in
the way of evidence that vaping is harmful. And it's been around for some 15
years now - probably long enough to show some degree of long term harm.

Similarly, nicotine is guilty by association, I've been unable to find any
literature pointing harm from consumption.

Now here's some speculation to take with a grain of salt - nicotine may offer
a protective effect against 2019-ncov. We've known for a while that nicotine
downregulates ACE2 receptors, and someone did an unofficial, but comprehensive
meta review for SARS, MERS, and 2019-ncov and found that former and current
smokers were significantly underrepresented among infected cases. Yes, it's a
Reddit post, but the sources are all there and you can review and judge them
for yourself.[1]

1\.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/COVID19/comments/faluhv/an_exhausti...](https://www.reddit.com/r/COVID19/comments/faluhv/an_exhaustive_lit_search_shows_that_only_585_sars/)

~~~
URSpider94
On the contrary, nicotine in and of itself is quite harmful. It’s debatable if
it causes cancer, but it definitely contributes to lung and heart disease,
among other things.
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4363846/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4363846/)

~~~
ohyeshedid
Was just about to post this. Nicotine vapor seems to be better than smoking,
assuming legit products, but nicotine is still poison. Consume a little too
much nicotine, whether smoking or vaping; that sickish feeling can be the
onset of nicotine poisoning.

I've seen so many people stating basically the same as OP, claiming no data on
vaping being harmful while completely ignoring the core substance that
produces the addiction in the first place.

I smoked a pack per day+ for 27 years, quit a few months back, still using low
nicotine vape products when overstressed and struggling with urges. I'm not a
vape hater, but I'm not ignorant to it being poison. It's always a good idea
to have as much knowledge about your vices as possible.

~~~
MisterBastahrd
I am a cigar guy and have been for year. I also know what it's like when
someone who doesn't smoke tries a strong cigar for the first time. I was once
at my favorite cigar bar on Canal Street, talking with the owners as I usually
did, when I saw some large men walk into the humidor. They were all WWE
wrestlers.

The owner asked me to go help em out, so I walked in with them and they asked
me what was the strongest cigar they had. I paused and then asked them about
their experience level with cigar smoking. All of them rarely ever smoked and
for some it was a first time thing. One of the guys had recently "won" the
world title and they wanted to celebrate his good fortune.

I had to tell them that I wouldn't recommend the strongest to them, that's
crazy if you haven't built a tolerance, and that if they felt nauseous, to
stop smoking and eat something sweet. I instead pointed out a medium bodied,
medium strength cigar and sent them on their way.

About an hour later two of them were sitting at the bar eating butter mints
out of a dish with their heads in their hands.

Nicotine will mess you up.

~~~
eyegor
Even a "weak" cigar will mess you up if you don't smoke. If you don't have
nicotine tolerance, smoking a cigar is akin to getting drunk. Stumbling around
and slurring words.

------
m0zg
Good timing. Given Juul's popularity and their product's likely effect of
weakening the lungs, I'm sure the lawsuits after COVID19 dust settles will be
for the history books.

~~~
samatman
Benzoic acid (as sodium benzoate) is a preservative, so for all we know, Juul
juice is protective against lung infections.

To be clear, I don’t believe this. Just thought one data-deficient argument
deserved another.

