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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Massachusetts is set to get tens of millions of dollars from the largest multistate settlement with e-cigarette company JUUL over its role in the nationwide youth vaping epidemic.
Attorney General Andrea Campbell announced the $462 million settlement alongside Attorneys General from California, Illinois, New York, and Washington D.C. Massachusetts is set to get $41 million dollars from the settlement, with a portion of the money going to funding vaping addiction services like outreach, education, and treatment.
This settlement is the result of an investigation into JUUL's marketing practices, which that found the company intentionally marketed its products to young people by advertising on websites used by kids and teens, using young celebrities as spokespeople, and knowingly shipping products to underage customers. Attorney General Campbell said in a press conference JUUL's marketing did extensive damage to nationwide anti-vaping efforts.
"JUUL's marketing campaign was not only appealing to kids but was targeting them, getting them started on e-cigarettes and them getting them addicted," Attorney General Campbell said. "Make no mistake, JUUL's targeting of young people rolled back decades of progress in combatting underage tobacco and nicotine use and has led to a nationwide public health crisis."
As a part of the settlement, JUUL will have to refrain from marketing to young people, limit the number of products customers can buy online and in-store, perform retail compliance checks for the next four years, and stop giving out free or reduced-price product samples. The company also must use people over 35 years old in promotional material and not do product placement in media.
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Along with these measures by JUUL, Attorney General Campbell said Massachusetts has strong laws in place to help prevent kids from using e-cigarettes.
"Here in Massachusetts we've strengthened our laws in regard to e-cigarettes and will continue to enforce those laws to ensure that no company can again use JUUL's playbook to entice our young people to use these addictive and harmful products," Attorney General Campbell said.
JUUL said in a statement the company plans to "dedicate even greater focus on our path forward to maximize the value and impact of our product technology." The company will make its first payment to Massachusetts this year and make seven more annual payments in years to come.
The Massachusetts Attorney General's office was the first state to launch an investigation into JUUL back in 2018. More than one in seven high school students used e-cigarettes in 2022, according to the CDC.
WBZ's Nichole Davis (@NicholeDWBZ) reports.
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