E-cigarette giant Juul's campaign donations favor Democrats

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 underage vaping has put Juul in the crosshairs of a number of Democrats, who have accused the company's early advertising and marketing of leading to the current wave of vaping by American teens.

Juul is ramping up its political giving as Congress considers legislation to raise the minimum age to purchase all tobacco and vaping products from 18 to 21.

Juul and cigarette maker Altria — which controls 35% of the vaping company — have backed a Senate bill that raises the age nationally. The bill does not include additional measures that anti-tobacco groups say are needed to curb youth use, such as banning flavored products and online sales.

Ted Kwong, a spokesman for Juul, said in a statement the company strongly prefers to support bills to raise the purchase age that are free of additional provisions, "as we believe it is one of the most effective ways to prevent underage use."

The new FEC figures show that Democrats, who won control of the House during last year's elections, received $74,000 from Juul's PAC between Jan. 1 and June 30 while Republicans received $22,500.

Kwong said the company "strives to support candidates on both sides of the aisle" as...