Yesterday, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the largest multistate agreement with JUUL Labs, Inc., in the amount of $462 million ($112 million of which will go to the state of New York).
The sum is part of a deal involving six states and the District of Columbia over JUUL's "alleged role in contributing to the youth vaping epidemic that led to a rise in underage e-cigarette vaping nationwide," according to the New York Attorney General's press release.
The lawsuit, originally announced in November of 2019 alleged that JUUL "took a page from Big Tobacco's playbook by engaging in deceptive business practices when marketing and advertising its products, and illegally sold its products to minors through its website and in third-party retail stores throughout the state, causing large numbers of New York youth to become addicted to nicotine." Specifically, the suit took issue with an ad campaign that included "bright colorful images of attractive, young models" that appealed to underage youth.
This most recent agreement is one of many JUUL has settled in recent history. Just last month, we blogged about a $23.8 million settlement between JUUL and the City of Chicago surrounding similar allegations (where we also covered some of the many other actions JUUL has faces over its underage marketing practices).
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