Juul pays $439 million in nationwide settlement

E-cigarette company Juul paid $439 million in a legal settlement to 33 states and Puerto Rico for their contribution to the youth vaping epidemic. Source: Photo by Mushtaq Hussain from Pexels.

The electronic cigarette company Juul agreed to pay $438.5 million in a legal settlement to 33 states and Puerto Rico because of their deceptive marketing to children and teenagers and overall contribution to the youth vaping epidemic. The money will go to programs across the states and territory which aim to reduce tobacco use, especially amongst young people. 

The plaintiff effort was led by Connecticut District Attorney General William Tong who said, “Juul’s cynically calculated advertising campaigns created a new generation of nicotine addicts.” Tong continued saying, “they relentlessly marketed vaping products to underage youth, manipulated their chemical composition to be palatable to inexperienced users, employed an inadequate age verification process, and misled consumers about the nicotine content and addictiveness of its products.” 

Juul’s earliest criticisms of unethical marketing started back in 2015 and 2016 when they bought ad space on primarily children’s websites like nick.com, nickjr.com, cartoonnetwork.com along with dozens of others. A JAMA Pediatrics study also found that 45% of Juul’s Twitter followers were between the ages of 13-17 in 2018. In a 2019 congressional hearing, a New York City mother testified that a team member of Juul came to her son’s high school to give a presentation on their product without the knowledge of any teacher or administrator. 

Another factor that made vaping appealing to kids was Juul’s flavored pods. In 2021, 84.7% of youths reported using a variety of flavors, and amongst middle school and high school students, the most common flavors were fruit at 71.6%, candy and dessert flavors at 34.1%, mint at 30.2% and menthol at 28.8%. 

It is estimated that one Juul pod is equivalent to a pack of cigarettes and Juul is also one of a few e-cigarette companies to use nicotine salts. These salts allow for more nicotine to be inhaled with less irritation.

Hudson Valley resident Alyssa Belon started vaping when she was in high school. “I started smoking sophomore year because the mango sounded delicious, and I got addicted.” She continued saying, “the only way I was able to quit was because I got pregnant.”

Besarda Aliaj ‘23 heard nothing of the Juul settlement. After a bit of background on the controversy, Aliaj said the company isn’t the only one at fault. She said, "Yeah, they have responsibility, but kids are the people who bought it... maybe because of peer pressure too in schools.” 

Marist’s Center Field Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Kinane ‘23 agreed with some of these feelings. He said, “If parents are smoking or doing anything like that in front of their kids that might lead to some responsibility” he said. “But if its kids going onto social media and finding it out that way then, what can they really do?” 

Arlington High School guidance counselor Kim Ale said, “You run a risk when you manufacture something like that and when it is easily attainable as it is.” She has also noticed an increase in vaping at the school, saying that they had to increase security and increase suspensions to try and discourage the behavior. “So, I’m thinking when they were home, they were doing whatever they wanted to do and now coming back into the schools, they are just so addicted” Ale said. 

According to the CDC, the most common reason children continue to vape is because they feel anxious, stressed, or depressed. “I’ve certainly seen a tremendous overwhelming increase in anxiety and depression,” Ale said. “Have I specifically related that to vaping? Not necessarily.”

The company released a statement on Sept. 6 saying: “This settlement with 34 states and territories is a significant part of our ongoing commitment to resolve issues from the past. The terms of the agreement are aligned with our current business practices which we started to implement after our company-wide reset in the Fall of 2019. 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.”