Page 79 - Forbes - Asia (September 2018)

FORBES ASIA
BILLIONAIRES TO BE

Cigarette Breakers

James Monsees and Adam Bowen have cornered the U.S. e-cigarette

market with Juul. Up next: the world. BY KATHLEEN CHAYKOWSKI

“CIGARETTES ARE PROBABLY the most successful 7,000 chemicals found in regular cigarettes. But e-ciga-
consumer product of all time, and they kill more than half rettes have drawn criticism for their popularity among
of all people who use them long-term,” says James Mon- teenagers and the lack of research into their long-term
sees (above, le ), the 38-year-old cofounder of Juul Labs, health efects.
maker of the world’s most popular e-cigarette. “hat got us Monsees is not concerned: “A fairly small percentage
interested.” of underage consumers are creating a lot of noise and
Juul (pronounced jewel) introduced its ash-drive- distracting us from what can otherwise be one of the
shaped device in 2015 and has since taken over some 70% greatest advances in public health in our lifetime.”
of the U.S. market. A Juul, which transforms a pod of In April, however, the Food & Drug Administration
nicotine-laced liquid into inhalable vapor, sells for $34.99, requested documents from Juul about its advertising and
while a four-pack of pods goes for $15.99 (some pods con- the product’s health impact, to investigate whether the
tain as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes). Juul’s rev- company has intentionally appealed to youth. Monsees
enue should grow by more than 300% this year, to roughly says Juul never has and never will market to underage
$1 billion. he company, which is proitable, is valued consumers.
by investors at nearly $16.3 billion; Forbes estimates that foreign reach. It’ll face opposition overseas, too; last
he founders are concentrating on expanding Juul’s
Monsees and his cofounder, Adam Bowen, 43, each own
BRIAN TAYLOR FOR FORBES about 5% of Juul, stakes worth some $730 million each. month Israel banned the Juul device. “We are 0.5% of

the global tobacco market,” Monsees says. “We’ve hardly
E-cigarettes are unquestionably safer than traditional
smokes, containing fewer toxins than the mélange of
touched the problem we’ve come out here to solve.”

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