Electronic cigarette company Juul Labs has settled a two-year investigation involving 33 states and Puerto Rico in a nearly $440 million settlement over alleged marketing of its products to teenagers.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced the settlement agreement on Tuesday.
“We think that this will go a long way in stemming the flow of youth vaping,” Tong said at a news conference.
“I’m under no illusions and cannot claim that it will stop youth vaping,” he added. “It continues to be an epidemic. It continues to be a huge problem. But we have essentially taken a big chunk out of what was once a market leader, and by their conduct, a major offender.”
The investigation probed concerns that Juul reportedly advertised its vaping products to minors in a variety of methods, including launch parties, ads, social media, and product giveaways. Juul also faces hundreds of lawsuits regarding teenagers who allege they became addicted to the company’s vaping products.
The settlement of $438.5 million will be paid over a six to 10-year period. At least $16 million will focus on vaping prevention efforts, according to Tong.
Juul Labs released a statement following the announcement noting its focus on combatting underage use of its products.
“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,” the statement read.
“We remain focused on the future as we work to fulfill our mission to transition adult smokers away from cigarettes – the number one cause of preventable death – while combating underage use,” it added.
The use of vaping products among teenagers surged following Juul’s launch in 2015, with the Food and Drug Administration later declaring an underage vaping “epidemic.”
Virginia Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares also released a statement following the settlement’s announcement that shared the Old Dominion will receive $16.61 million in the settlement.
“Youth vaping is an epidemic, and from the get-go JUUL has been a leader in the e-cigarette industry. But JUUL targeted young people with deceptive social media advertising campaigns and misled the public about the product’s dangers,” Miyares said. “My office will continue to go after and hold accountable companies that market addictive products like e-cigarettes to minors, with no concern for their health or well-being.”
In June, the FDA officially ordered all Juul e-cigarettes to be removed from U.S. sales.
“Today’s action is further progress on the F.D.A.’s commitment to ensuring that all e-cigarette and electronic nicotine delivery system products currently being marketed to consumers meet our public health standards,” Dr. Robert M. Califf, FDA commissioner, said in a press release.
As The Daily Wire previously reported, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit soon approved a halt to the plan.
“With the administrative stay from the FDA now in place, we continue to offer our products to adult smokers while we pursue the Agency’s internal review process,” Juul Labs shared in a statement regarding the administrative stay. “We remain confident in the quality and substance of our applications and believe that ultimately we will be able to demonstrate that our products do in fact meet the statutory standard of being appropriate for the protection of the public health.”