Juul’s Ex-Chemist Wants to Get China Vaping

Although Juul created an alternative to cigarettes, its fruit-flavored vape pods have also hooked a whole new generation on nicotine, Chenyue Xing says. She should know—she helped create them. “When Juul was first developed, it was for mature adult smokers,” she says. “It shouldn’t have gotten into the eyesight of juveniles.”

Xing, a former top scientist at Juul Labs Inc., says she started Myst Labs to correct the vaping industry’s mistakes. Her company’s first target is the world’s biggest smoker nation, China, where Xing and her co-founders grew up. They face a market crowded with dozens of well-capitalized rivals and a groundswell of worry caused by the mysterious “vaping illness” that’s killed at least 20 people and sickened more than 1,000 in the U.S. since spring. Health authorities say many of the cases are linked to pods containing THC, not nicotine, but some victims have said they only vape nicotine, and some authorities have cautioned against vaping in general.