Juul employees get $1.3 million bonuses thanks to Big Tobacco

Juul employees are about to get some hefty bonuses, thanks to a new investment from one of the largest tobacco companies in the world.

Altria, the parent company of Marlboro maker Philip Morris, invested $12.8 billion in Juul, valuing the e-cig company at $38 billion, according to Bloomberg.

That makes Juul more valuable than Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Airbnb, and Pinterest. The investment also comes with a big pay day for Juul’s founders (who are now part of the billionaires club) and employees. The company is preparing fat bonuses for its workers, which will average about $1.3 million each, CNBC reported. 

Exactly how much each person gets depends on how long they’ve worked at the company and how much they stock they currently own, according to CNBC. 

Meanwhile, regulators and watchdogs are increasingly concerned about Juul’s impact on nicotine use among teens. Nicotine use is now skyrocketing among teens due to vaping. A study this week from the University of Michigan found that teen nicotine use has hit record highs over the past year, with more than 20 percent of teens reporting some use.

That’s an alarming trend for groups that have sought to curb teen smoking rates. Truth Initiative, a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating tobacco use, said Juul’s deal with Altria was a worrying sign.

“This investment gives the tobacco industry direct access to a new pipeline of millions of youth e-cigarette users, most of whom were not smokers in the first place,” the group wrote in a statement. “Research shows that young people who vape are four times more likely to begin smoking deadly cigarettes.”

The FDA had also sought to limit Juul’s ability to appeal to younger users. The agency is requiring the company to enforce stricter age requirements and will make it harder to buy Juul flavors popular with younger users, like mango and cucumber.