Juul to pay $462M to settle claims it unlawfully marketed nicotine products to minors
Juul Labs Inc. has now paid out more than $1 billion in settlements to US states
Juul Labs Inc. has agreed to pay a whopping $462 million to settle claims made by six states and the District of Columbia that it illegally marketed its addictive e-cigarettes to minors, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Wednesday.
As part of the settlement, the company agreed to secure its products behind retail store counters and verify the age of consumers that directly sell or promote its products online, according to the New York Attorney General's Office.
"Today, Juul is paying for the widespread harm it caused," James said at a press conference, joined by attorneys general from the other states involved in the settlement including Illinois, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Colorado and the District of Columbia.
The states had accused Juul of glamorizing vaping and targeting youths with colorful ads featuring young models using flavors of nicotine products that would appeal to kids. Juul was also accused of deceptively advertising its products as safer than cigarettes.
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A shopkeeper demonstrates smoking a Juul brand vaping pen to customers at a Juul shop in Jakarta, Indonesia, Dec. 30, 2019. (REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/File Photo / Reuters Photos)
Juul said in a statement it has now settled with 47 U.S. states and territories, paying out more than $1 billion.
"The terms of the agreement, like prior settlements, provide financial resources to further combat underage use and develop cessation programs and reflect our current business practices, which were implemented as part of our company-wide reset in the fall of 2019," Juul said. "Since then, underage use of JUUL products has declined by 95% based on the National Youth Tobacco Survey."
The company did not admit wrongdoing.
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Flum Float disposable vape flavored vaping e-cigarette products are displayed in a convenience store on June 23, 2022, in El Segundo, California. (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"JUUL lit a nationwide public health crisis by putting addictive products in the hands of minors and convincing them that it’s harmless — today they are paying the price for the harm they caused," James said in a statement.
"Too many young New Yorkers are struggling to quit vaping and there is no doubt that JUUL played a central role in the nationwide vaping epidemic. Today’s agreement will help young New Yorkers put their vapes down for good and ensure that future generations understand the harms of vaping," James added.
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A Juul electronic cigarette starter kit is seen at a smoke shop on Dec. 20, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File / AP Newsroom)
In addition to the payments, the settlement requires Juul to place new restrictions on its sales and marketing, such as limiting the amount of retail and online purchases customers can make and no longer offering free samples of Juul pods to customers.
The head of the FDA's center for tobacco products said last year that adolescent e-cigarette use in the United States remained at "concerning levels" and posed a serious public health risk. Federal health officials said last October that an estimated 2.55 million U.S. middle and high school students reported using e-cigarettes during a four-month span earlier in 2022.
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Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, the addictive substance present in regular cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products, and nicotine in adolescence can harm the parts of the brain that control attention, learning, mood and impulse control, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC also has said using nicotine in adolescence may raise the risk for future addiction to other drugs.
The $462 million paid to the states will be used to support programs to educate youth about the harms of vaping, as well as fund state enforcement of anti-vaping laws.
Reuters contributed to this report.