Juul paying additional $7.8 million to NC in e-cigarette settlement
North Carolina is getting more money from a lawsuit settlement with e-cigarette company Juul.
According to Attorney General Josh Stein, the state will receive an additional $7.8 million from the company as part of a lawsuit filed in 2021.
“The vaping epidemic is far from over, and these additional funds will help us keep more kids healthy,” Stein said. “Vaping is dangerous to kids' health, and we must continue to do everything in our power to keep them nicotine free."
One of many lawsuits
The lawsuit was one of many in recent years.
Juul Labs agreed to pay $462 million to six states and Washington, D.C., in April. It was one of the largest multi-state settlements yet for the troubled company accused of contributing to the rise of vaping among youth.
In December of 2021, Juul Labs announced it settled more than 5,000 cases brought by approximately 10,000 plaintiffs in the US, resolving a substantial amount of legal issues for the company.
The company said the cases were various personal injury, consumer class action, or from government entities and Native American tribe groups, but did not disclose the settlement amount.
That followed a September announcement that Juul would pay $438.5 million to 34 states and territories after a two-year investigation into its marketing and sales practices -- like in West Virginia, where authorities charged Juul with deliberately marketing its products to young people.
What's next
The Attorney General’s Office said the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is using the settlement to prevent e-cigarette addiction, help those quit and fund further research on e-cigarettes.
As part of the settlement agreement, Juul is required to make public a large number of documents it produced during the lawsuit.
According to the Attorney General’s office, the first round of documents will be made available through a partnership with the UNC and the University of California, San Francisco in early 2024.
