HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 7, 2022 (HealthDay News) – Juul Labs said Tuesday it will pay $438.5 million, without acknowledging wrongdoing, to settle dozens of lawsuits filed over company practices that may have fueled widespread VapingAmong American teens.
The company stated that the settlement reached with 34 states and territories was a significant step in our ongoing efforts to resolve past issues. “With today’s announcement, we have settled with 37 states and Puerto Rico, and appreciate efforts by Attorneys General to deploy resources to combat underage use.”
William Tong, Connecticut Attorney-General, applauded the news.
“We think that this will go a long way in stemming the flow of youth vaping,” Tong said during a news conference Tuesday. “We are under no illusions and cannot claim that it will stop youth vaping. It is still a huge problem. It’s still a big problem. But we have essentially taken a big chunk out of what was once a market leader.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration still has not decided whether Juul will be allowed to sell its products in the country. Juul appealed against the June ban by the agency on vaping products. The court ruled that Juul could still sell certain products until the appeal is heard.
In the latest investigation conducted by about three dozen states, it was found that Juul appealed to young people with its youthful models, free e-cigarette samples and flavors like crème brulee and mango. Not only that, about 45% of the company’s Twitter followers were between the ages of 13 and 17.
Tuesday’s settlement would prohibit Juul from practices that include marketing to youth, funding education in schools or misrepresenting its products’ nicotine levels, though the company has already changed some of what it does following pressure from parents and public officials.
Settlement funds will be paid in six to ten years. New York Times reported. Connecticut plans to use $16 million of its share for addiction programs, vaping cessation, and nicotine treatment. Texas is getting $43 Million. Virginia will receive $16.6 Million.
“It was Juul who came on the scene and opened this terrible Pandora’s box,” Meredith Berkman, who co-founded Parents Against Vaping E-Cigarettes, told the Times. “No amount of money can erase the harm caused by Juul’s targeting of and marketing to teens whose use of the company’s stealth-by-design flavored products led many kids to suffer severe nicotine addiction and physical harm.”
Berkman joined the group in 2018 after her son came home from school in the ninth grade and talked about a Juul representative speaking at a school assembly and describing its products as “totally safe.”
Berkman said that the group has received hundreds of reports from families claiming their children have become addicted to vaping Juuls and other similar devices. Some teens are even suffering from severe illness.
Recent U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveys reveal new problems: Although fewer students use e-cigarettes now, Puff Bar products, which make vapes flavored with candy and fruits, are still the most popular.
The FDA continues to fight against new candy colors and flavors, while some companies are now selling synthetic nicotine. Synthetic nicotine was not regulated before March when Congress granted the FDA the power of regulation. It is still reviewing about a million applications received from non-tobacco tobacco product manufacturers this spring. Times reported.
This latest settlement involves Alabama, Arkansas and Connecticut, Delaware. Georgia, Hawaii. Idaho. Indiana. Kansas. Kentucky. Maine. Mississippi. North Dakota. Nebraska. New Hampshire. New Jersey. Nevada. Ohio. Oklahoma. Oregon. Puerto Rico. Rhode Island. South Carolina. South Dakota. Tennessee. Texas. Utah. Virginia. Vermont. Wisconsin. Juul reached an earlier settlement with North Carolina, Washington and Louisiana, as well as Arizona.
New York and California are the only remaining jurisdictions for nine more lawsuits. Times said. California had approximately 3,600 lawsuits that were consolidated. These included cases against individuals, school districts, and local governments.
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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers more information about e-cigarettes.
