E-cigarette brand Juul pays over $450 million for targeting young audiences

The American electronic cigarette seller Juul agreed on Wednesday to pay 462 million dollars to six American states and the capital Washington for targeting the youngest. The company thus continues to settle the lawsuits launched once morest it.

It has also submitted to several restrictions on the marketing of its products, such as the fact that they are placed behind store counters, details a press release from the New York prosecutor, who signed the agreement jointly with his counterparts. from California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Mexico and the District of Columbia (Washington).

“Juul sparked a nationwide public health crisis by putting addictive products into the hands of minors and convincing them they were harmless. Today, they are paying the price for the harm they have caused,” prosecutor Letitia James said in the statement. His complaint notably accused the company of having “glorified” vaping in advertisements promoting fruity, sweet or minty flavors – enough to attract the youngest – and of having misled consumers as to the content of vaping. nicotine from its products and their harmfulness.

More than 430 million already paid last year

Many other complaints have been filed for similar reasons. Juul has already agreed to pay $438.5 million in September 2022 to 34 states or territories in the United States and in December announced an agreement closing more than 5,000 complaints brought by 10,000 individuals.

The company said in a statement on Wednesday that it has now settled complaints from 47 states and territories. “We are now in a position to focus even more on the path to maximizing the value and impact of our product technology (…),” remarks Juul. The company’s value has plummeted in recent years, weighed down by its legal setbacks and uncertainty over the status of its e-cigarettes, with U.S. authorities banning them last June before an appeals court temporarily suspended this decision. The company launched a restructuring plan at the end of 2022.

The agreement reached on Wednesday also provides that Juul can no longer use people under the age of 35 in its advertisements, that it limits the number of products per purchase transaction and that it prohibits product placements in games. virtual reality.