WASHINGTON (AP) – E-cigarette giant Juul Labs gave nearly $100,000 to members of Congress during the first half of 2019 as the company faced the bulk of the blame for a surge of underage vaping and calls for tighter government regulation of the industry.
The donations from Juul’s political action committee represent a sharp increase over last year’s total, according to a Federal Election Commission report released Thursday that shows most of the money went to Democrats.
The boost in contributions is the latest sign of the company’s expanding influence operation in Washington and around the country. An explosion of vaping by minors has put Juul in the crosshairs of a number of Democrats, who have charged the company’s early advertising and marketing led to the current wave of vaping by American teens.
