Metro

NYC awarded over $27M from national JUUL e-cig legal settlement

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Published June 12, 2024, 3:42 p.m. ET

New York City has gotten more than $27 million as part of a $462 million settlement with JUUL, which was sued by several states for causing an underage “vaping epidemic.”

The payout to the Big Apple is part of a $112.7 million that was given to New York State as part of the settlement — and is to be distributed to support programs to help reduce and prevent underage vaping.

“JUUL lit a nationwide public health crisis and put addictive products in the hands of minors who thought they were doing something harmless,” Attorney General Letitia James said to press on Wednesday. 

The city received over $27 million to help NYC kids quit vaping after JUUL was sued for causing a “vaping epidemic” by unlawfully marketing addictive products to minors. REUTERS

Under the agreement, Juul will also make payouts to California, Massachusetts, Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico and the District of Columbia.

JUUL has not confirmed to the Post the amount each of these states are expected to receive.

While specifics on the programs weren’t detailed — the parameters were outlined under five categories: 

  • Public education campaigns to prevent e-cigarette use among young people
  • Community, school and university-based anti-vaping programs 
  • Vaping cessation services in communities, schools, and colleges
  • Enforcement of vaping laws and regulations
  • Public health research into e-cigarette use among young people and the effectiveness of anti-vaping programs

“By holding vape companies like JUUL to account, and using the fines to fund anti-vaping educational campaigns aimed at teens in New York, Attorney General Letitia James is doing a service for us all,” said Councilwoman Gale Brewer (D-Manhattan).

After JUUL launched in 2015, e-cigarette usage by high school students in New York City “increased three-fold,” from 8.1 percent in 2014 to 23.5 percent by 2018.

By 2019, there was a national outbreak of severe vaping-related illnesses with more than 2,500 hospitalizations as a result, according to the Attorney General’s office.

Letitia James
New York AG Letitia James launched the lawsuit in 2019 a month after a Bronx teen died of a vaping related illness. Robert Miller

The lawsuit against JUUL was launched just a month after a 17-year-old from the Bronx became the first New Yorker to die of vaping-related illness.

The city and the Department of Education have been contacted for comment but they did not immediately respond.

It comes just days after the US Food and Drug Administration announced it had rescinded marketing denial orders for vaping products from JUUL Labs Inc.

It’s unclear whether the products will ultimately stay on the market — but JUUL said last week its products will remain on the market during scientific review.

The Post has contacted JUUL for comment but they did not immediately respond.