Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced the agreement Tuesday on behalf of the states and Puerto Rico, which joined in 2020 to investigate Juul’s early promotions and claims about the benefits of its technology as an alternative to smoking . The settlement, which includes several restrictions on how Juul can market its products, resolves one of the biggest legal threats facing the beleaguered company, which still faces nine separate lawsuits from other states. In addition, Juul is facing hundreds of personal lawsuits on behalf of teenagers and others who say they became addicted to the company’s vaping products.
Juul marketed e-cigarettes to underage teens: investigation
The states’ investigation found that Juul marketed its e-cigarettes to underage teenagers with launch parties, product giveaways and ads and social media posts using teenage models, according to a statement. “We think this will go a long way in stemming the flow of youth vaping,” Tong said at a news conference in his Hartford office. “I’m under no illusions and I can’t claim that youth vaping will stop,” he said. “It continues to be an epidemic. It continues to be a huge problem. But we’ve basically taken away a big chunk of what was once a market leader, and by their behavior, a major offender.” WATCHES | Juul stops selling most flavored vaporizers in Canada:
Juul will stop selling most flavored vaporizers in Canada
The announcement comes as Health Canada is considering tougher regulations on the vaping industry in response to claims that rules around their products – popular with young people – do not protect public health. The $438.5 million will be paid over a period of six to 10 years. Tong said at least $16 million of Connecticut’s payment will go toward vaping prevention and education efforts. Juul previously settled lawsuits in Arizona, Louisiana, North Carolina and Washington. The settlement totals about 25 percent of Juul’s US sales of $1.9 billion last year. Tong said it was an “agreement in principle”, meaning the states will finalize settlement documents in the coming weeks. Most of the limits imposed by Tuesday’s settlement won’t immediately affect Juul, which stopped using parties, giveaways and other promotions after it came under scrutiny several years ago.
Underage vaping ‘epidemic’
Teen use of e-cigarettes skyrocketed after the launch of Juul in 2015, prompting the US Food and Drug Administration to declare an “epidemic” of underage vaping among teens. Health experts said the unprecedented increase risked getting a generation of young people hooked on nicotine. As of 2019, however, Juul has been mostly in retreat, dropping all U.S. advertising and pulling its fruit and caramel flavors from store shelves. The biggest blow came earlier this summer when the FDA decided to ban all Juul e-cigarettes from the market. Juul challenged that decision in court, and the FDA reopened its scientific review of the company’s technology. The FDA review is part of a sweeping effort by regulators to control the multibillion-dollar vaping industry after years of delays. The agency has approved a handful of e-cigarettes from Juul’s competitors for adult smokers looking for a less harmful alternative. A Juul vaporizer is pictured at a vape shop in Vancouver on July 15, 2019. (Ben Nelms/CBC) While Juul’s early marketing focused on young, urban consumers, the company has since shifted to promoting its product as an alternative source of nicotine for older smokers. “We remain committed to our future as we fulfill our mission to move adult smokers away from cigarettes – the number one preventable cause of death – while combating underage use,” the company said in a statement. Juul agreed to refrain from a number of marketing practices as part of the settlement. They include not using animation, paying with social media influencers, depicting people under the age of 35, advertising on billboards and public transportation, and placing ads in any stores unless 85 percent of their audience they are adults. The agreement also includes restrictions on where Juul products can be placed in stores, age verification on all sales and limits on online and retail sales.
“At the end of the day it’s about protecting our children”
“These are some of the toughest mandates anywhere in any industry,” Tong said, “which is incredibly important because at the end of the day it’s about protecting our children and protecting all of us from a very significant risk to the public health. “ Juul originally sold its high-nicotine pods in flavors like mango, mint, and custard. The products have become a scourge in US high schools, with students vaping in bathrooms and hallways between classes. But recent federal survey data shows that teens are moving away from the company. Most teenagers now prefer disposable e-cigarettes, some of which continue to be sold in sweet, fruity flavors. Overall, the survey showed a nearly 40 percent drop in the rate of teen vaping, as many children were forced to learn from home during the pandemic. But federal officials cautioned about interpreting the results given that they were first collected online, rather than in classrooms.
