Juul must pay $462 million to six states and DC over ‘youth vaping epidemic’

The settlement is the largest yet with the e-cigarette manufacturer, the subject of litigation and investigations in nearly every state

Electronic cigarette company Juul must pay $462m to six states and Washington DC, marking the largest multi-state settlement with the company following claims that Juul unlawfully targeted an addictive vaping product to minors.

The settlement with states including California and New York means Juul has settled in suits with nearly every state and local governments across the US, totaling roughly $3bn. Juul’s settlement does not admit wrongdoing.

Juul “targeted youth by glamourizing vaping with colourful ads” with “young models,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a virtual press conference with other attorneys general on 12 April.

“All while downplaying the harmful effects of vaping,” said Ms James, adding that Juul “played a central role in the nationwide vaping epidemic.” More than 2.5m middle and high school students in the US vaped in 2022, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Food and Drug Administration.

“Juul lit a nationwide public health crisis by putting addictive products in the hands of minors and convincing them that it’s harmless,” Ms James said in a statement. “Today they are paying the price for the harm they caused.”

New York will receive $113m over several years, largely to be used for smoking abatement programmes, according to Ms James.

In September, it was announced that Juul would pay more than $438m to 34 states and territories following an investigation into its sales and marketing practices.

In addition to settled claims with dozens of states and governments, Juul is also at the centre of litigation and investigations in Alaska, Florida, Michigan and Maine, and a trial is underway in Minnesota following the state’s 2019 lawsuit against the company. In December, the company agreed to pay $1.7bn over lawsuits filed by more than hundreds of individuals, schools and local governments.

The settlement announced on 12 April also includes stringent restrictions on Juul’s sales and marking abilities.

Ms James claimed that Juul led people to believe that its producers are safer than cigarettes, though one of its pods contains as mich nicotine as a pack of cigarettes.

“Taking a page out of Big Tobacco’s playbook, Juul misled consumers about the health risks of their products,” she said.

Last year, the FDA ordered that Juul products be removed from the US market entirely, but a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has put that on hold, for now.

A statement from Juul Labs said the settlement “represents another critical part in our ongoing commitment to resolve issues from the company’s past.”

“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,” the company added.