E-cigarette maker Juul Labs has agreed to pay $462 million to six U.S. states and the District of Columbia in the largest settlement yet for the company, according to CNN.
The settlement declared that Juul products must be secured behind counters requiring age verification of customers. The vaping giant must also cease using actors under 35 years old in marketing materials that directly or indirectly target young people.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta remarked that he was “disgusted” and “enraged” with Juul. The product “reignited an epidemic of youth nicotine use,” he said.
Bonta’s state is one of several receiving a cut of the large settlement over a period of eight years. California won the biggest settlement, with $175.8 million, while New York was awarded almost $113 million. Illinois will get $67.6 million, Massachusetts is getting $41.7 million, and Colorado and New Mexico will receive $31.7 and $17 million respectively.
D.C. was awarded the least in the settlement at $15 million.
New York’s Attorney General Letitia James said the company was “taking a page out of big tobacco’s playbook” and “misled consumers about the health risks of their products.”
The attorney general claimed that Juul led consumers to believe its product was safer than cigarettes and contained less nicotine.
Juul was also accused of promoting directly to high school students. The lawsuit claimed that a Juul representative “falsely told high school freshmen that its products were safer than cigarettes.”
A spokesperson for the company told CNN that Juul is “nearing total resolution” of “historical legal challenges,” meaning the company will now be able to focus on its product’s “technology and scientific foundation.”
In September 2022, Juul agreed to pay $438.5 million in a settlement with 33 states. The figure amounted to about 25% of its total sales in the U.S. in 2021.
According to a CNN report, approximately 2.5 million middle and high school students in the U.S. used e-cigarettes in 2022. This included 14% of high school students and 3.3% of middle school students who reported using e-cigarettes within 30 days of the study.
Over 42% of the children stated that they use the products frequently, while over 27% said they use them daily.
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