Friday, 29 March, 2024
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Vaping company fined $40m for illegally targeting youth

Juul Labs, an electronic cigarette giant, will pay $40m to North Carolina state and make changes to its business practices to settle accusations that the company unlawfully marketed and sold products to young people, reports Jurist.

Juul allegedly fuelled an increase in teenage vaping, including through its use of social media advertisements, and was accused of selling vaping devices and flavoured pods to children.

The settlement requires Juul to stop marketing products to individuals under the age of 21 in North Carolina. This involves ending the use of social media advertisements and ceasing to advertise near schools. The $40m will be paid out over six years, and the settlement money will be used to fund treatment programmes for teenagers who use e-cigarettes and e-cigarette research.

After Juul launched in 2015, teen use of e-cigarettes increased by more than 70%. In 2018, the US Food and Drug Administration declared an “epidemic” of teenage use of e-cigarettes. North Carolina is the first state to reach a settlement with Juul. Several other states have filed lawsuits against Juul, and Juul faces hundreds of personal injury lawsuits.

 

Vaping company fined $40m for illegally targeting youth

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