Attorney General James Announces Over $3 Million for the North Country to Combat Youth Vaping Epidemic

June 21, 2024

NEW YORK - New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced the North Country will receive over $3 million from a historic $462 million multistate settlement that she secured from JUUL Labs Inc. (JUUL) for its role in the youth vaping epidemic that led to a dangerous rise in underage e-cigarette use nationwide. New York state will receive a total of $112.7 million through this settlement, which Attorney General James will distribute to every county, Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), and the five largest cities in the state to support programs that will help reduce and prevent 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 will be split between counties and BOCES in the North Country:

Counties

• Clinton County will receive $398,962.14
• Essex County will receive $278,594.49
• Franklin County will receive $372,792.31
• Hamilton County will receive $181,640.73
• Jefferson County will receive $531,347.19
• Lewis County will receive $261,994.63
• Saint Lawrence County will receive $383,711.63

BOCES

• Clinton-Essex-Warren-Washington BOCES will receive $226,598.54
• Franklin-Essex-Hamilton BOCES will receive $128,010.19
• Jefferson-Lewis-Oneida-Hamilton-Herkimer BOCES will receive $368,831
• Saint Lawrence-Lewis BOCES will receive $232,632.83

After JUUL launched in 2015, e-cigarette use among New York high school students skyrocketed. By 2019, the proliferation of vaping led to a national outbreak of severe vaping-related illnesses, with more than 2,500 hospitalizations. In October 2019, a 17-year-old male from the Bronx died due to a vaping-related illness, making him the first reported vaping-related fatality in New York, and the youngest vaping-related fatality in the United States.

In November 2019, Attorney General James sued JUUL for its deceptive and misleading marketing that glamorized vaping and targeted young people. In April 2023, Attorney General James secured the largest multistate agreement with JUUL and its former directors and executives for their role in fueling the youth vaping epidemic. JUUL misled consumers about the nicotine content of its products, misrepresented the safety and therapeutic value of its products by stating that they were safer than cigarettes, and failed to prevent minors from purchasing its products in stores across the country.

The settlement funds will be used for evidence-based measures to combat underage vaping and e-cigarette addiction. Counties and BOCES must dedicate the settlement funds they receive to programs in 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.

In addition to paying New York $112.7 million, the settlement required JUUL to make significant changes to its sales and marketing tactics, including:

• Refraining from any marketing that targets youth, including using anyone under the age of 35 in promotional material or funding, operating youth education/prevention campaigns, or sponsoring school related activities.
• Limiting the amount of retail and online purchases an individual can make.
• Performing regular retail compliance checks at five percent of New York's retail stores that sell JUUL's products for at least four years.
• Treating synthetic nicotine as nicotine.
• Refraining from providing free or nominally priced JUUL pods as samples to consumers.
• Excluding product placement in virtual reality systems.
• Increasing funding to a document depository by up to $5 million and adding millions of relevant documents to the depository to inform the public on how JUUL created a public health crisis.

"I'm pleased to see the North Country will receive over $3 million in the settlement with JUUL," said State Senator Dan Stec. "This will go a long way towards educating young people on the dangers of e-cigarettes, helping them to see through misleading advertising and make informed decisions."

"Vaping companies are targeting youth and they must be held accountable, and I am glad that the Attorney General's office is holding JUUL responsible for their sales and marketing tactics," said Assemblymember Billy Jones. "This court settlement will help our community combat this crisis and prevent our youth from the harmful health effects of vaping."

"It is incredible that $3 million is being distributed throughout Upstate New York to help combat the youth vaping epidemic," said Assemblymember Robert Smullen. "I am very pleased to see funds being sent directly to Hamilton Country and Franklin-Essex-Hamilton BOCES in my district. Families and parents throughout our upstate communities deserve to know the state has their backs and is looking out for the safety of their children. These funds will go a long way in making sure JUUL pays for its role in the growing youth vaping epidemic and necessary measures are in place to protect vulnerable children and students who could be exposed to these dangerous devices."

The settlement was led by Senior Advisor and Special Counsel M. Umair Khan, Assistant Attorneys General Hailey DeKraker and Noah Popp, and Healthcare Deputy Bureau Chief Leslieann Cachola. The settlement was also brought about by the work of Assistant Attorneys General Sarah Millings, Michael Reisman, and Abigail Kasowitz; Consumer Frauds Bureau Chief Jane Azia; Senior Assistant Solicitor General Dennis Fan, Deputy Solicitor General Judith Vale; Special Assistant Attorney General Emily Auletta; former Deputy Director of Research and Analytics Megan Thorsfeldt and Data Scientist Jasmine McAllister; Chief Scientist Jodi Feld, Information Technology Manager Corey Nugent, Information Technology Specialists Hewson Chen and Paige Podolny; E-Discovery Document Review Manager Carol Cheng; Civil Recoveries Section Chief Martin Mooney; and former Special Counsel Morenike Fajana, former Healthcare Bureau Chief Lisa Landau, and former Section Chief Amy Schallop. The Division for Social Justice is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux and the Division for Economic Justice is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Chris D'Angelo. Both the Division for Economic Justice and the Division for Social Justice are overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.