Juul agrees to pay $438.5M as part of class action settlement
FDA removed Juul products from U.S. shelves earlier this year
Juul agreed Tuesday to pay nearly a half billion dollars as part of a settlement with 39 states over the way it marketed its vape products.
The $438.5 million agreement in principle with Juul Labs resolves a two-year investigation into the e-cigarette manufacturer's marketing and sales practices. In addition to the financial terms, the settlement would force JUUL to comply with a series of strict injunctive terms severely limiting their marketing and sales practices.
Investigators also sought to examine to what extent Juul marketed itself has an effective smoking cessation device despite lack of required U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval.
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While traditional cigarette use has plummeted among youth, vaping is skyrocketing, undermining national progress towards reducing tobacco use. The National Youth Tobacco Survey conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control in 2019 found more than 5 million youth reported having used e-cigarettes within the past 30 days, up from 3.6 million just one year prior.
"Juul created a generation of nicotine addicts with its kid-friendly flavors and targeted marketing," Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said.
The FDA earlier this year removed Juul products from the U.S. market.
The video from the player above is from a previous report.
