Juul Labs Inc, the creator of e-cigarettes, has agreed to pay $462 million to resolve charges by six states, including New York and California, that it illegally promoted its addictive products to minors.
Juul will have settled with 45 states for more than $1 billion as a result of the agreement. In the settlement, which also covered Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New Mexico, as well as the District of Columbia, the business did not admit wrongdoing.
Juul is still being sued in Minnesota, where a trial is now taking place, as well as lawsuits or pending investigations in Florida, Michigan, Maine, and Alaska. In addition to the state settlements, the corporation agreed to pay $1.7 billion last year to settle hundreds of claims brought by local governments and individual consumers.
Under regulatory pressure, Juul withdrew most of its flavours off the market in 2019 and suspended much of its advertising. Last June, the US Food and Drug Administration momentarily banned the items, but it later suspended the prohibition and agreed to evaluate the move when the firm filed an appeal.
Juul's former major investor, Marlboro cigarette producer Altria Group Inc, is also facing unresolved accusations over its alleged role in promoting Juul's e-cigarettes.
Altria revealed last month that it has sold its stake in Juul in return for part of the company's intellectual property. Its stake in Juul was valued at $250 million in December, down from $12.8 billion in 2018.
Last year, the head of the FDA's Tobacco Products Centre stated that adolescent e-cigarette usage in the United States remained at "concerning levels" and constituted a major public health danger. According to federal health experts, an estimated 2.55 million middle and high school pupils in the United States used e-cigarettes during four months earlier in 2022.
The majority of e-cigarettes include nicotine, the addictive ingredient found in cigarettes, cigars, and other tobacco products. According to the Centres for Disease Affect and Prevention, nicotine in adolescence can impair the regions of the brain that affect attention, learning, mood, and impulse control. The CDC has also said that consuming nicotine throughout adolescence may increase the likelihood of future drug addiction.
