Juul to Settle Multi-State Lawsuit for $438.5M

Facts

On Tues., electronic cigarette maker Juul Labs agreed to settle for $438.5M in a lawsuit brought forward by 33 states and Puerto Rico that claims the company marketed its nicotine products to minors.
The settlement, in which Juul didn’t acknowledge any wrongdoing, prohibits the company from marketing to youth, funding education in schools, and inaccurately reporting the amount of nicotine in its products.
Since facing pressure from regulators in 2019, Juul had already stopped much of its advertising and discontinued sales of most of its flavored pods that attracted younger customers.
E-cigarette use among teenagers increased drastically after Juul was introduced in 2015, with the Food and Drug Admin. (FDA) this summer ordering the removal of all Juul e-cigarettes from the market before a stay was issued by a judge.
The settlement, which equals around 25% of Juul’s US sales of $1.9B last year, will be paid out over the next six to 10 years, with states able to use the funds for programs such as vaping prevention.
Juul is still facing a combined 3.6k lawsuits from individuals, school districts, and local governments, though data shows teens have shifted away from Juul and toward disposable vapes which still contain fruity flavors.

Narrative A, as provided by Washington Post. While this settlement is a step in the right direction, more needs to be done to prevent youth access to nicotine — starting with the FDA removing the problematic products from the market. There are still other companies like Juul out there, but hopefully, the settlement will discourage them and the FDA will be able to crack down on them, too.
Narrative B, as provided by Federalist. The best way to reduce teenage vaping is through education and transparency, not hysteria. The reality is that vaping is safer than smoking, although it can be very addictive. Kids can handle the truth, and when they trust the information they’re getting, they’re more likely to do the right thing.