Juul to pay $462 mln over youth addiction claims

Reuters Videos
1 年前

STORY: In its largest multi-state settlement to date, e-cigarette maker Juul Labs has agreed to pay $462 million to six U.S. states along with the District of Columbia to resolve claims that it unlawfully marketed its addictive products to minors.

JAMES: “Taking a page out of big tobacco's playbook, Juul misled consumers about the health risk of their products”

New York Attorney General Letitia James along with other AGs from states involved in the settlement that included California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New Mexico made the announcement Wednesday.

JAMES: "The e-cigarette company falsely led consumers to believe that its vapes were safer than cigarettes and contained less nicotine. [FLASH] Juul's lies led to a nationwide public health crisis and put addictive products in the hands of minors who thought they were doing something harmless.."

With this deal, Juul has now settled with 45 states for more than $1 billion, yet the company did not admit wrongdoing in the settlement.

Juul added in a statement (quote):

"With this settlement, we are nearing total resolution of the company's historical legal challenges and securing certainty for our future.”

The company still faces lawsuits in other states.

Under pressure from regulators, Juul in 2019 pulled most of its flavors from the market and halted much of its advertising.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last June briefly banned the products, though it put the ban on hold and agreed to reconsider the action after the company appealed.

The e-cigarette maker said that use of its products by people under age 18 had fallen by 95% since the fall of 2019, when it changed its marketing practices as part of a "company-wide reset."

Juul's former largest investor, Marlboro cigarette maker Altria Group, is also facing claims over its alleged role in marketing Juul's e-cigarettes, and has not settled.

Altria last month announced that it had given up its investment in Juul in exchange for some of Juul's intellectual property. As of December, its share of Juul was valued at $250 million, down from $12.8 billion in 2018.