Juul reaches $7.9 million settlement with West Virginia
Today, on April 11, news from foreign media reported that West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey stated that West Virginia has reached a settlement agreement with e-cigarette manufacturer JUUL Labs Inc. regarding its advertising and marketing practices.
According to media reports today, Juul Labs has agreed to a settlement of $7.9 million over allegations that the company violated West Virginia's consumer credit and protection laws.
Morrisey stated that the company was accused of engaging in unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the manufacturing, design, sale, marketing, promotion, and distribution of e-cigarettes in the state, particularly promotional activities targeting underage users.
"This settlement prevents companies like Juul from replicating the playbook of big tobacco companies and their predatory marketing strategies targeting minors," he said. "In Juul's case, we allege that it deceived consumers regarding nicotine strength, distorted the nicotine equivalence of its products to traditional cigarettes, and underestimated the addiction risks posed by such high levels of nicotine."
According to a statement from Austin Finan, Vice President of Corporate Communications at Juul Labs, this settlement represents "another step in Juul Labs' ongoing commitment to addressing past issues of the company."
"The terms of the agreement, like previous settlements, provide financial resources to further combat youth usage and develop cessation programs, reflecting our current business practices that are part of the restructuring we implemented company-wide in the fall of 2019," Finan said. "Given that West Virginia has the highest smoking rate in the U.S., we hope some of the funds will be directly used for interventions to reduce combustible cigarette use and improve public health in the state."
Finan stated that Juul has now reached settlements with 40 states and territories, providing hundreds of millions of dollars to participating states.
