New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that the North Country will receive over $3 million from a historic $462 million multistate settlement with JUUL Labs Inc. (JUUL). This settlement addresses JUUL's role in the youth vaping epidemic, which led to a significant rise in underage e-cigarette use nationwide. New York state will receive a total of $112.7 million from this settlement, which Attorney General James plans to distribute across 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.
“JUUL intentionally used deceptive marketing to hook a generation of young people on their addictive products,” said Attorney General James. “Our children now face a severe public health crisis, battling addiction to dangerous e-cigarettes. As a result of this historic settlement, leaders in the North Country will have new resources to implement programs that will help prevent children from falling victim to the dangers of vaping. I thank my partners in government for their continued commitment to our children’s safety.”
The funds allocated for counties and BOCES in the North Country are as follows:
Counties:
- Clinton County: $398,962.14
- Essex County: $278,594.49
- Franklin County: $372,792.31
- Hamilton County: $181,640.73
- Jefferson County: $531,347.19
- Lewis County: $261,994.63
- Saint Lawrence County: $383,711.63
BOCES:
- Clinton-Essex-Warren-Washington BOCES: $226,598.54
- Franklin-Essex-Hamilton BOCES: $128,010.19
- Jefferson-Lewis-Oneida-Hamilton-Herkimer BOCES: $368,831
- Saint Lawrence-Lewis BOCES: $232,632.83
Following JUUL's launch in 2015, e-cigarette use among New York high school students surged dramatically by 2019, resulting in more than 2,500 hospitalizations due to severe vaping-related illnesses nationwide and one fatality involving a 17-year-old male from the Bronx.
In November 2019, Attorney General James sued JUUL for its deceptive marketing practices targeting young people and glamorizing vaping. By April 2023, she secured the largest multistate agreement with JUUL and its former directors and executives for their role in exacerbating the youth vaping epidemic.
The settlement funds are designated for evidence-based measures aimed at combating underage vaping and e-cigarette addiction through five key 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.
Additionally, JUUL is required to make significant changes to its sales and marketing tactics as part of the settlement:
1) Refrain from youth-targeted marketing.
2) Limit retail and online purchases per individual.
3) Conduct regular retail compliance checks.
4) Treat synthetic nicotine as nicotine.
5) Prohibit free or nominally priced samples.
6) Exclude product placement in virtual reality systems.
7) Increase funding for document depository up to $5 million.
State Senator Dan Stec expressed satisfaction with the allocation stating it would educate young people on e-cigarettes' dangers while Assemblymember Billy Jones emphasized holding companies accountable for targeting youth through misleading advertising tactics.
Assemblymember Robert Smullen highlighted that families deserve assurance that protective measures are being implemented against harmful devices like those produced by JUUL.
The settlement was facilitated by Senior Advisor M.Umair Khan along with other key members within various divisions under Chief Deputy Attorneys General Meghan Faux (Social Justice Division), Chris D’Angelo (Economic Justice Division), both overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.