Juul can't stop its employees from vaping in the office

It's impossible to escape the vape — especially in Juul's own offices.

More than a year ago, the e-cigarette company Juul Labs Inc. banned employees from using its products in its San Francisco headquarters and offices nationwide. But even after the company threatened to fire people who are caught vaping inside, Juul employees say not much has changed, The Wall Street Journal reports.

When vaping was first on the rise, it quickly ditched the norms of smoking as users started vaping indoors. That was especially true at Juul's offices, which one employee described as looking like a 1960's-esque office straight out of Mad Men — "Just replace the cigarettes with e-cigarettes," they told the Journal. "Employees vape at their desks, in hallways, in meetings and on videoconferences," the Journal described.

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But last December, after getting questions from San Francisco city officials, Juul's then-CEO sent out an email announcing vaping wouldn't be allowed inside anymore. "It may feel nonsensical to prohibit at-work use of the very products we work hard to create and promote," but the company had to comply with local regulations, the email said.

Yet in the year since, not much has changed. Some employees will hide their Juuls in sweater sleeves, but the company's co-founders and others "have continued to do it openly," employees told the Journal. Even the threat of being fired after a fourth vaping offense hasn't seemed to have done much.

A Juul spokesperson said the company remains "committed to maintaining a smoke and vapor-free workplace in compliance with state and local laws" and takes action when those laws are violated. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.