Attorney General James Announces Over $13 Million for the Hudson Valley to Combat Youth Vaping Epidemic

June 21, 2024

NEW YORK - New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced the Hudson Valley will receive over $13 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.

"E-cigarette use among young New Yorkers shot up after JUUL flooded the market with advertising aimed at teenagers and lies about the safety of its products," said Attorney General James. "Now young people are suffering from physical and mental health issues fueled by vaping addiction. This settlement puts new limits on JUUL's marketing and will provide leaders in the Hudson Valley over $13 million to implement new anti-vaping programs to protect our kids. I want to thank our partners in the Hudson Valley who will put these funds to use to stop the youth vaping epidemic."

The funds will be split between the Yonkers City School District, and counties and BOCES in the Hudson Valley:

Counties

• Dutchess County will receive $1,141,432.42
• Orange County will receive $1,379,565.77
• Putnam County will receive $511,067.37
• Rockland County will receive $1,161,651.38
• Sullivan County will receive $481,474.24
• Ulster County will receive $644,402.70
• Westchester County will receive $2,722,278.52

School Districts / BOCES

• Yonkers City School District will receive $405,020.84
• Dutchess BOCES will receive $618,362.25
• Orange-Ulster BOCES will receive $799,258.74
• Putnam-Northern Westchester BOCES will receive $818,062.61
• Rockland BOCES will receive $686,468.53
• Southern Westchester BOCES will receive $1,226,848.77
• Sullivan BOCES will receive $150,488.46
• Ulster BOCES will receive $317,582.86

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.

"We would like to thank Attorney General Letitia James for her steadfast commitment to what has become a dangerous issue among young people across New York State," said Westchester County Executive George Latimer. "We have all seen the harmful health effects stemming from JUUL and other e-cigarette products. This additional funding will help us to educate, inform, and implement new anti-vaping measures, ultimately reducing nicotine use and addiction among our kids."

"This $13 million settlement is a significant step towards combating the youth vaping epidemic in Rockland County and the Hudson Valley," said Rockland County Executive Ed Day. "My administration pledges to utilize these funds to protect the health and future of our youth through educational campaigns about the dangers of vaping. This significant investment in awareness and intervention efforts, will ensure a healthier, smoke-free future for our children and communities."

"Both in the State Legislature and now as Putnam County Executive, I have always been an advocate against marketing these unsafe, addictive products to kids," said Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne. "We commend the Attorney General's office for their dedicated work on securing this settlement. These funds will be instrumental in enhancing our efforts to combat youth vaping through education, prevention, and support programs. We have already put in the leg work with local stakeholders and conducted comprehensive community assessments through our ATUPA programming. We intend to propose utilizing this settlement money to augment those efforts and look forward to seeing the positive effects this settlement will have on our community."

"I would like to thank Attorney General James for her tireless advocacy on behalf of New Yorkers and for holding JUUL accountable for the harm it has caused by contributing to the dramatic increase in the use of flavored vape products by youth," said Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger. "When I was a State Senator, we passed legislation to ban the sale of flavored nicotine vape products precisely because of the harmful impacts these products were having on our youth. This new announcement of more than $13 million for the Hudson Valley, including $644,402 for Ulster County, will help us combat vaping by young people in our communities and address the challenges we are confronting with vaping in our schools. I look forward to working with our Ulster County Department of Health to put the new funding to good use to safeguard the health of our county's youth."

"I commend Attorney General Letitia James for her leadership in securing over $13 million for the Hudson Valley to address the youth vaping epidemic," said Assemblymember Anil Beephan. "This critical funding will play a vital role in helping young New Yorkers quit vaping and supporting essential anti-vaping programs. Our community, including Dutchess County, will greatly benefit from these resources as we work together to protect the health and well-being of our youth."

"I applaud the Attorney General's office for their commitment to punishing those who promote smoking to youths," said Assemblymember Aileen Gunther. "The money awarded from this lawsuit will fund preventive and educational programs to keep vapes and other nicotine products away from New York children. These efforts will make a difference not just in our community but throughout New York State as a whole."

"I thank the Attorney General and her team for their diligent work on holding corporations like JUUL accountable, said Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha. "I am thrilled that a significant amount of the settlement funds will go to Ulster and Dutchess BOCES to help combat underage vaping."

"I appreciate Attorney General James' consistent attention to upstate New York's citizens and their needs - she is an advocate for us all," said Sullivan County Legislator Catherine Scott. "This funding is crucial to our ongoing efforts to stop addiction before it starts in our youth, and I hope to see our state and federal partners provide even more funds in the years to come. Educating teens and young adults about the dangers of vaping - while at the same time protecting them from deceptively attractive ads - will have a much-needed and very welcome impact in Sullivan County."

"We know the Hudson Valley has a youth mental health crisis driven largely by social media, social isolation, and the lasting effects of the pandemic," said Christopher D'Ambrese, Rockland BOCES District Superintendent. "We also know that these mental health challenges are fueling a vaping epidemic. This settlement will provide meaningful resources to combat youth vaping and youth nicotine use in Rockland County through new health education and prevention initiatives. Many thanks to Attorney General James for supporting our school communities."

"Southern Westchester BOCES is deeply appreciative of the successful efforts by the Office of the Attorney General in advocating for the health and safety of young people in our community," said Dr. Harold A. Coles, Southern Westchester BOCES District Superintendent. "Vaping and e-cigarette use are matters of great concern for our BOCES and for our component school districts. We take seriously our obligations in receiving a portion of the settlement funds and, in partnership with our component districts, are committed to providing programs that educate and benefit our communities to the greatest extent possible."

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.