Top Takeaways:
- Nearly 5 million internal Juul Labs documents have been made public in a new online archive.
- The collection, funded by North Carolina’s $47.8 million settlement with Juul Labs, is hosted by UNC-Chapel Hill and UCSF.
- Researchers and policymakers say the trove offers unprecedented insight into Juul’s marketing and business practices.
A massive new online archive has been launched, containing nearly 5 million internal Juul Labs documents, providing researchers, regulators, and the public with an unprecedented view of the company’s role in fueling youth e-cigarette use.
The Juul Labs Document Repository was created by North Carolina health officials in partnership with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of California, San Francisco. It is funded through the state’s $47.8 million settlement with the company, the first legal action in the U.S. to hold Juul accountable for targeting minors.
“This collection allows the world to see how Juul operated and make sure it never happens again,” North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein said.
The repository is fully searchable and located within the UCSF Industry Documents Library, where it connects with millions of other tobacco, chemical, and pharmaceutical industry records. The Juul collection includes emails, marketing plans, sales data, scientific studies, and multimedia files from approximately 2015 to 2019.
UNC’s University Librarian María R. Estorino called it “an essential new resource that none of our organizations could have created alone.”
Researchers state that the database is a vital tool for understanding how product design, flavor strategies, and marketing efforts contributed to youth usage. In 2024, over 1.6 million U.S. middle and high school students reported using e-cigarettes, with Juul identified as one of the most common brands.
Public health officials argue the documents will strengthen prevention campaigns, inform regulators, and give industry players a clear view of practices that contributed to the vaping crisis.
