JUUL pulls funding for effort to overturn San Francisco's vaping ban

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco-based JUUL announced Monday night that it will stop funding Proposition C, which would overturn a ban on vaping products in the city.

The e-cigarette maker wrote the measure and has spent more than $11 million on promoting it. The move will suspend the campaign for Prop. C, but legally it will remain on the ballot.

JUUL did not specifically say why it decided to pull funding.

In a statement, JUUL Labs CEO K.C. Crosthwaite said, "I am committed to seeing that JUUL engages productively with all stakeholders, including regulators, policymakers and our customers. This decision does not change the fact that as a San Francisco-founded and headquartered company we remain committed to the city. San Francisco is not only the home of our company's founding but is also the home of many of our talented employees."

Back in June, San Francisco Supervisors approved a measure to outlaw the sale of vape products not approved by the FDA. Currently, no e-cig products have FDA approval.

Prop. C would overturn the ban, require additional licensing and permitting for businesses selling vapor products and enact additional age-verification requirements for their sale.