Altria's big bet on Juul is going horribly wrong

Altria's $12.8 billion investment for a 35% stake in Juul is at risk of becoming one of the worst corporate investments of all time.

Driving the news: So far, vaping is suspected or confirmed as the cause of death for 8 people and 530 cases of pulmonary illness across 38 states, the CDC said, with a federal official saying that a criminal probe has begun.

Sens. Mitt Romney and Jeff Merkley proposed a bill late Thursday that would:

• Ban e-cigarette flavors other than tobacco.
• Create new design standards for e-cigarettes.
• Apply existing tobacco taxes to e-cigarettes.
• Urge the Department of Health and Human Services to oversee a campaign about the health risks of e-cigarettes.
• Make it more difficult to refill vape cartridges with home-made tobacco pods.

"With nearly a quarter of high school students vaping regularly, we must take decisive action to prevent a new generation from addiction and serious health risks," Romney said.

Between the lines: "Sometimes it's darkest before the light, but right now it looks like Altria got smoked," Axios' Dan Primack writes.

The big picture: Juul keeps getting hit left and right — particularly after the recent spate of vaping-related lung diseases. The company is also facing a possible congressional subpoena after failing to provide documents in July.

• Last week, President Trump proposed banning all flavored vaping pods from the U.S. market, including mint and menthol.
• Earlier this week, Juul products disappeared from Chinese e-commerce sites JD.com and Alibaba's Tmall.com, without explanation.
• India banned e-cigarettes entirely.

In the market: Altria's stock has been falling for much of this year and has been on a clear downward path over the past 6 months.

• The recent blowback against e-cigarettes has sent shares down another 8% in just the past week.

Go deeper: The global anti-vaping tipping point