19-year-old drops lawsuit against Juul, Philip Morris over illegal marketing

An Illinois teenager dropped a lawsuit on Wednesday against e-cigarette maker Juul and tobacco giant Philip Morris two days after filing it.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Illinois on Monday by 19-year old Christian Foss, claimed the companies use illegal and deceptive marketing to prey on young people.

On Wednesday, Foss filed a notice of voluntary dismissal, and Judge Jorge L. Alonso dismissed the case without prejudice.

The lawyer who filed the case did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Juul did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But when the lawsuit was originally filed, the company said it has "never marketed to youth and do not want non-nicotine users, especially youth, to ever try our product."

Altria, Philip Morris' parent company, said when the lawsuit was filed that "virtually all of the conduct alleged in the complaint occurred before Altria had any economic interest in Juul."

Altria bought a 35% stake in Juul in Dec. 2018 for $12.8 billion.

Juul is the dominant player in the e-cigarette market, which originally positioned the product as an alternative to cigarettes.