Juul pays big bucks in settlement over teen vaping

Vaping giant Juul agreed to a $40 million lawsuit settlement with North Carolina over teen vaping.

As a part of the settlement, Juul Labs, Inc. will also do more to prevent underage use and sales of vaping products. The company agreed to not advertise to anyone under 21 in North Carolina. Juul will limit sales amounts of Juul products online to any state residents. And, it will sell its products only behind counters at retailers that have ID scanners to ensure customers are of age.

“Juul has agreed to the terms that we insisted on,” Attorney General Josh Stein said. “The court has signed a consent order that will require Juul to fundamentally change its business practices and to pay a meaningful sum to the State of North Carolina.”

The settlement comes after years of accusations saying the company fueled an explosion in teen vaping.

Teen use of e-cigarettes skyrocketed more than 70 percent after Juul’s launch in 2015, leading the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to declare an epidemic.

“In 2018, I launched my investigation into Juul after I started hearing from friends about the devastation that this product had visited on their kids’ lives,” AG Stein said. “Addiction, depression, bad grades, switching schools, medical treatment and more.”

Stein eventually sued Juul, accusing it of employing unfair and deceptive marketing practices that targeted young people to use its vaping products.

“They did it to teenagers across North Carolina and this country simply to make money,” Stein said. “Their greed is not only reprehensible, it is unlawful. And that is why I took action.”

Health experts said the unprecedented increase in e-cigarette use risked hooking a generation of young people on nicotine, an addictive chemical that is harmful to the developing brain.

Juul, which is partially owned by Altria Group Inc., has seen sales fall after halting all advertising and social media promotion. The company has also pulled most of its flavors except for menthol.

Several other states filed their own lawsuits against Juul. A group of 39 state attorneys general have been cooperatively investigating the company’s marketing and products since February 2020.

Juul also faces hundreds of personal injury lawsuits from customers and families of young people who said they were hurt or addicted by the company’s products. Those have been consolidated in a California federal case.