Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 25 January 2021 doi:10.20944/preprints202101.0472.v1 Article Surveillance of U.S. corporate filings provides a proactive approach to inform tobacco regulatory research strategy S. Emma Sarles 1, Edward C. Hensel 2* and Risa J. Robinson 3 1 PhD in Engineering Student, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester NY, USA;
[email protected], https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4890-1820 2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester NY, USA;
[email protected], https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2682-0766 3 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester NY, USA;
[email protected], https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8488-5448 * Correspondence:
[email protected] Abstract: The popularity of electronic cigarettes in the United States and around the world has led to a startling rise in youth nicotine use. The Juul e-cigarette was introduced in the U.S. market in 2015 and had captured approximately 13% of the U.S. market by 2017. Unlike many other contemporary electronic cigarette companies, the founders behind the Juul® e-cigarette approached their product launch like a traditional high-tech start-up company, not like a tobacco company. This article presents a case study of Juul’s corporate and product development history in the context of US regulatory actions. The objective of this article is to demonstrate the value of government- curated archives as leading indicators which can (a) provide insight into emergent technologies and (b) inform emergent regulatory science research questions. A variety of sources were used to gather data about the Juul e-cigarette and the corporations that surround it.