E-cigarette maker Juul eyes Indian, Asian smokers after crackdown in US

Going into Asia won't be easy. It means navigating a maze of different smoking cultures, socioeconomic levels and regulatory regimes across a slew of countries at various stages of development

Juul Labs Inc., the e-cigarette pioneer grappling with negative publicity and government crackdowns in the US, is setting its sights on Asia, home to half the world’s smokers.

The San Francisco company in recent months has begun selling its vaping devices in South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines, and is looking into entering more markets in the region. Asia -- with looser tobacco regulations and favorable tax treatments, as well as high cigarette sales volume -- has been a lucrative alternative for tobacco giants suffering from falling smoking rates and slowing growth opportunities in developed countries.

“Given the volume of