Juul will pay $440 Million to settle with States' teen vaping probe

Market by Vaping Daily
Sep.21.2022
Juul has become the most popular e-cigarette in the United States in less than two years since the launch of its device. As of September 2018, it holds more than 70 percent of the e-cigarette market share.

After a two-year inquiry, 39 states investigated Juul Labs' marketing and sales activities in February 2020 to determine whether the firm targeted young people with deceptive representations about the nicotine concentration of its products.

 

Juul will pay $440 Million to settle with States' teen vaping probe

 

Juul has agreed to pay $438,500,000 in settlement fees to 33 states and Puerto Rico. The settlement cost is around 25 percent of Juul's annual U.S. sales and will be paid over six to ten years. Prior to this, the corporation has been sued in Arizona, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Washington. The firm is still facing lawsuits from nine more states, as well as several individual claims filed by minors who claim to be Juul-dependent.

 

Unethical Marketing Campaign by Juul

 

Juul was found to have advertised its e-cigarettes to minors through product launches, product giveaways, ads, and social media posts showcasing young models, according to a statement from the Joint Commission of Inquiry. In addition, they omitted to mention that their cartridges included nicotine, a chemical that is highly addictive. After multiple examinations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2018, Juul Labs' whole growth strategy appears to have been meant to appeal to kids, so inadvertently attracting the consumers at the highest risk of nicotine addiction. The FDA's conflict with Juul finally resulted in a number of prohibitions on Juul flavors. In 2018, the government also issued over 1,300 warning letters and sanctions to merchants who supplied Juul products unlawfully to minors.

 

What will the $438,500,000 be used for?

 

Mr. William Don, the attorney general of Connecticut, announced the settlement on Tuesday, September 5, 2022. He stated that Connecticut's share of the cost should be at least $16 million, which will be put in e-cigarette education and prevention initiatives. According to him, they feel the funding will go a long way toward halting the rise of e-cigarette use among teenagers. He stated, "I am not naive and cannot say that it will eliminate the use of e-cigarettes among young people." "It is still an epidemic (young adults using e-cigarettes). It remains an enormous concern. But we've grabbed a substantial chunk of what was formerly the market leader, and based on their behavior, they're a major offender "At a news conference held in his Hartford office, Tang stated.

 

Restrictions Attached to the Settlement Accord

 

As part of the settlement agreement, Juul agreed to refrain from a number of marketing practices, including the use of cartoons, the payment of social media influencers, the depiction of people under the age of 35, billboard advertising, and the placement of advertisements in any media unless at least 85 percent of the publication's audience is adult. The deal also restricts the retail positioning of Juul products. In addition, age verification is required for all sales, both online and offline. Juul stated that the conditions of the settlement are consistent with its marketing tactics since its "company-wide reset" in the fall of 2019 and that the firm is now focused on the future. The company stated in a statement, "We believe we should gain marketing permission once the FDA has done a comprehensive evaluation of all the research and evidence offered, as required by law, and without political intervention."

 

Recent research

 

According to a survey conducted by the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2021, the majority of adolescents now favor disposable e-cigarettes. E-cigarette and alcohol bars are the most popular locations among high school and middle school kids who use disposable e-cigarettes flavored with banana ice. Overall, the poll revealed that teen e-cigarette use decreased by about 40 percent as a result of the need for many students to study at home during the outbreak.

 

Conclusion

 

The attorney general of Connecticut stated that the deal is merely "in principle" and that the settlement documentation will be finalized in the following weeks. However, the FDA, which had previously determined to ban Juul e-cigarette devices, has temporarily permitted the sale of Juul vape goods to resume while it evaluates the scientific data.

 

Also read:

Juul Gets Temporary Reprieve to Keep Selling Its E-Cigarettes

Will the new Juul ban help Colorado’s high teen vape use?

*The content of this article is written after the extraction, compilation and integration of multiple information for exchange and learning purposes. The copyright of the summary information still belongs to the original article and its author. If any infringement is found, please contact us to delete it.