Letitia James, the New York Attorney General, has reportedly distributed almost half of the lawsuit settlement funds that the state got from Juul Labs Inc., the popular e-cigarette maker. According to details of the settlement last year, Juul Labs Inc. agreed to pay a whopping sum of $462 million to seven states in the U.S. after losing a lawsuit.
The suit claimed that the company was guilty of unlawfully marketing addictive products to minors, thereby contributing to a growing youth vaping epidemic in the country. When a judge ruled against the company, it was also ordered to pay the settlement funds to Colorado, California, New York, New Mexico, Massachusetts, Washington, D.C., and Illinois.
However, these funds are not to be shared evenly, with states like New York receiving $112.7 million from the settlement. According to the attorney general of New York, the funds would be shared with every county, the Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), and the five largest cities in the state in order to support programs that would discourage and reduce vaping among underaged people.
James also announced how the funds were going to be shared and how much each sector was going to get. More than $4.7 million would be given to the Syracuse City School District, BOCES and counties in Central New York. In addition, over $7.4 million will also be distributed among the Rochester City School District and counties and BOCES in the Finger Lakes region.
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Her office has also given about $12 million to New York City, and the New York City School District has received almost $15 million. Suffolk County and Nassau County also received $8.8 million and over $7.5 million, respectively. Now, she has successfully distributed about $55 million to the state and is on track to share the rest, as previously announced. James said in a statement that Juul Labs has preyed on young people across the state by marketing addictive products to them and falsely marketing them as harmless vapes.
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Therefore, the company’s actions have put the children in New York at risk, increasing the mental and physical health problems among the youngsters in the state. In addition, the attorney general said that the settlement was in favor of the state, which has given them the funds to invest in anti-vaping efforts to help reduce the vaping epidemic among the youth.
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When the counties and BOCES receive the funds, they must dedicate the settlement funds to various programs under five broad categories. These programs include vaping cessation services in schools, communities, and colleges, anti-vaping programs that are either school, university, or community-based, public education campaigns to reduce and prevent vaping among youngsters, public health research into vaping and the effect of anti-vaping programs and the enforcement of laws against vaping and regulations.
The settlement funds also come with legal agreements by Juul Labs to change their marketing practices. It includes a ban on marketing that targets young customers or uses people who are under the age of 35 for any promotional material. There is also a limit to the number of purchases that customers can make online and in physical stores.
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