Juul Labs Inc. has hired a former White House adviser to join its leadership team, one of several ex-federal officials or regulators added by the e-cigarette startup this year as it tries to head off a potentially ruinous government crackdown on its products.
Surging teen use of the company’s slim e-cigarette devices has set off debate in Washington and neighborhoods around the country about whether Juul is hooking more children on nicotine than it is helping adult smokers quit. The Food and Drug Administration has threatened...