On June 18, New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced a $462 million multi-state settlement agreement reached with e-cigarette manufacturer Juul Labs Inc. New York State will receive $112.7 million from this agreement, with over $4.7 million allocated to the central region of New York State to help with projects aimed at aiding teenagers in quitting e-cigarettes.
The funds obtained by New York State will be distributed to each county, city, Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), and other recipients within the state, as stated by the Attorney General’s Office.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, the use of e-cigarettes among high school students in New York State saw a drastic increase since Juul introduced its products in 2015. By 2019, there were over 2,500 hospitalizations nationwide due to e-cigarette-related illnesses. In October of the same year, a 17-year-old boy from the Bronx died from an e-cigarette-related illness, becoming New York State’s first and the youngest e-cigarette vaping-related death in the United States.
In November 2019, the State Attorney General’s Office filed a lawsuit against Juul, accusing them of engaging in deceptive marketing targeted at teenagers, glamorizing e-cigarette products, falsely claiming that the nicotine content in their products was safer than traditional cigarettes, and failing to prevent minors from purchasing their products in stores across the country. In April 2023, Juul reached a settlement agreement with multiple states.
The Attorney General’s Office stated that the settlement funds will be used to help New York State’s teenagers quit e-cigarettes and to support anti-vaping initiatives.