New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that the Southern Tier will receive over $4.5 million from a historic $462 million multistate settlement secured from JUUL Labs Inc. (JUUL). This settlement addresses JUUL's role in the youth vaping epidemic, which has led to a significant rise in underage e-cigarette use nationwide. New York state will receive a total of $112.7 million through this settlement, which will be distributed to every county, Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), and the five largest cities in the state to support programs aimed at reducing and preventing underage vaping.
“Young New Yorkers have been preyed on by big tech and big tobacco companies that seek to profit by pushing addictive products to children,” said Attorney General James. “The settlement I secured with JUUL will help turn the tide on the youth vaping epidemic by providing new resources to Southern Tier schools and communities to combat vaping and ensuring JUUL will end its deceptive marketing. I thank my partners in the Southern Tier for their cooperation and commitment to keeping New York youth safe.”
The funds will be allocated as follows:
Counties:
- Broome County: $596,588.77
- Chemung County: $509,170.60
- Chenango County: $351,784.56
- Delaware County: $315,519.52
- Schuyler County: $216,589.36
- Steuben County: $450,048.88
- Tioga County: $323,674.26
- Tompkins County: $473,932.88
BOCES:
- Broome-Delaware-Tioga BOCES: $464,006.41
- Delaware-Chenango-Madison-Otsego BOCES: $184,030.60
- Greater Southern Tier BOCES: $439,444.00
- Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga BOCES: $183,380.64
Following JUUL's launch in 2015, e-cigarette use among New York high school students surged dramatically. By 2019, this increase led to a national outbreak of severe vaping-related illnesses with more than 2,500 hospitalizations reported.
In October 2019, a 17-year-old male from the Bronx became the first reported vaping-related fatality in New York and the youngest such fatality in the United States.
Attorney General James sued JUUL in November 2019 for deceptive marketing practices that targeted young people and glamorized vaping.
In April 2023, she secured a significant multistate agreement with JUUL and its former directors and executives for their role in exacerbating the youth vaping crisis.
The settlement funds are earmarked for evidence-based measures designed to combat underage vaping and e-cigarette addiction across five categories:
1) Public education campaigns.
2) Community-based anti-vaping programs.
3) Vaping cessation services.
4) Enforcement of vaping laws.
5) Public health research into e-cigarette use among young people.
In addition to financial compensation totaling $112.7 million for New York State alone, JUUL is required by the settlement to implement substantial changes to its sales and marketing strategies:
1) Prohibiting marketing targeting youths.
2) Limiting retail and online purchases per individual.
3) Conducting regular compliance checks at retail stores selling JUUL products.
4) Treating synthetic nicotine as nicotine.
5) Stopping free or nominally priced sample distributions.
6) Excluding product placements in virtual reality systems.
7) Increasing funding for a document depository up to an additional $5 million.
This initiative was spearheaded by Senior Advisor M. Umair Khan along with Assistant Attorneys General Hailey DeKraker and Noah Popp among others within various divisions of the Attorney General’s office.
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