Tennessee awarded $13 million in JUUL settlement

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Tennessee will be awarded about $13 million from JUUL Labs., Inc. as part of a multi-state, $434.9 million settlement with the electronic cigarette maker, state attorney general Jonathan Skrmetti announced Wednesday.

The settlement is the culmination of a two-year, bipartisan, 34-state investigation into JUUL’s marketing and sales practices, the state said in a media release.

“JUUL tailored their product and advertisements to minors, thus luring them into vaping and, in some cases, nicotine addiction,” Press Secretary Elizabeth Lane said. “The company is paying for that misconduct. The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office appreciates the collaboration among our bipartisan group of attorneys general to hold JUUL accountable and stop their deceptive and harmful marketing practices.”

JUUL was, until recently, the dominant player in the vaping market, according to the media release. The multistate investigation revealed that JUUL rose to this position by “willfully engaging in an advertising campaign that appealed to youth, even though its e-cigarettes are both illegal for minors to purchase and are unhealthy for minors to use.”

“The investigation found that JUUL relentlessly marketed to underage users with launch parties, advertisements using young and trendy-looking models, social media posts and free samples. It marketed a technology-focused, sleek design that could be easily concealed, and sold its product in flavors intended to attract underage users,” the release said. “To preserve its young customer base, JUUL relied on age verification techniques that it knew were ineffective.”

The settlement is a step toward ensuring JUUL will not engage in deceptive and harmful marketing practices in the future, officials said.

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