E-cigarette maker JUUL Labs appeals B.C. court’s class action certification
Published 5:15 pm Monday, August 17, 2026
E-cigarette maker JUUL Labs and tobacco conglomerate Altria Group, owner of Philip Morris USA, are appealing the B.C. Supreme Court’s certification of a class action lawsuit alleging the companies deceptively marketed e-cigarettes as a safe alternative to smoking.
The case was brought by representative plaintiffs Owen Mann-Campbell and Robert Osborn in 2019, one year after e-cigarettes became legal in Canada.
The pair claim JUUL and Altria are liable for negligence, unjust enrichment, breach of consumer protection legislation and more.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Christopher Giaschi certified the case as a class action on July 15, and the companies filed notice of their intent to appeal on Aug. 13.
The B.C. government has also filed a similar suit to recover health-care costs related to vaping, although that case is still in its early stages.
The class certification is not a finding of fault; it simply allows the case to proceed as a class action.
JUUL declined to comment on the case. Altria did not respond to a request for comment.
This is the second time the companies have tried to appeal to the B.C. Court of Appeal, though the last effort was deemed “premature” because the class certification was not yet finalized.
Rob Cunningham of the Canadian Cancer Society says this all fits into the tobacco industry playbook in these sorts of cases to delay as long as possible.
“The appeal is part of a long-standing tobacco industry strategy of delay, delay, delay,” Cunningham said. “They want to avoid this case getting to trial, as much as possible, to also then delay having to pay damages.”
He wants to see JUUL held accountable for what he says are aggressive and “reprehensible” marketing practices aimed at youth.
Traditional cigarette manufacturers have faced huge payouts in these types of claims, such as the 2025 resolution of three class action lawsuits that resulted in a $32.5 billion settlement.
But those cases took many years to wind their way through the courts: two of them dated back all the way to 1998. After 27 years and one of the cases getting through a trial and appeal, they were finally settled.
Cunningham’s organization watched that process closely, and he reckons it will not take quite as long this time.
He also expects other companies to be added as defendants if the class action proceeds.
Cunningham says that research has shown youth who vape are more likely to start smoking regular cigarettes.
“There’s no doubt that vaping products have been a gateway to nicotine addiction,” he said.
He also points out that recent studies show a link between e-cigarettes and cancer, highlighting one published earlier this year in the peer-reviewed academic journal Carcinogenesis, which finds e-cigarettes likely cause oral and lung cancer.
As this case and the one filed by the B.C. government against JUUL work their way through the courts, Cunningham and the Cancer Society are advocating for stricter rules to help tamp down e-cigarette use among youth.
Cunningham wants the B.C. government to raise the age limit from 19 to 21, ban any promotional activities and ban flavoured e-cigarettes.
“The B.C. government needs to do a lot more to reduce vaping,” he said.
In response to Cunningham’s critique, B.C.’s Health Ministry highlighted several initiatives rolled out over the past few years to reduce youth vaping, such as the 2020 E-Substances Regulation, which created flavour, nicotine content and advertising restrictions, and the 2023 A-Z of Vaping social media campaign.
The provincial government also passed the Vaping Product Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act in 2025 to enable court action against e-cigarette companies to recover public health costs.
“JUUL’s development of highly addictive nicotine salts, product design and youth-friendly flavours caused many youth and non-smokers to become addicted to nicotine,” Attorney General Niki Sharma said in a written statement at the time.
“With the VPRA now law, the Province is taking action to hold JUUL accountable for its role in fuelling an epidemic of youth addiction.”