Juul Is Behaving Differently In The Philippines Than In The U.S., Say Activists

Almost as soon as the e-cigarette maker Juul launched in the Philippines this past June, Maria Encarnita Limpin started noticing the product in shops all over the capital Manila.

"It's like they mushroomed," she says.

Limpin is a doctor specializing in lung disease and also directs a nonprofit that has helped push though rules preventing the marketing and sale of cigarettes to minors in the Philippines. So she was particularly horrified to see how visible Juul's vaporizers are in areas where children are likely to see them.

At one of Manila's biggest convenience chains, she says, the new Juul displays are often right at the entrance. Then there was the placement of a Juul promotional kiosk in a shopping area. "It was very near Baskin-Robbins," she says, "you know that famous ice cream company?"

Limpin adds that just like Baskin-Robbins, in its Philippine stores Juul is offering an assortment of flavors that seem tailor-made to appeal to teens: "Mango flavor, mint flavor," she ticks them off. Also "creme."