Juul to pay $38M in settlement for targeting Pennsylvania youth

HARRISBURG, Pa. (KDKA) - Juul will pay $38 million in a settlement with Pennsylvania after the attorney general's office said it targeted teenagers and deceived consumers about e-cigarette safety.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro sued the electronic cigarette manufacturer in 2020, accusing Juul of targeting young people "with tactics similar to the tobacco companies' playbook" and violating the state's Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law.   

The terms of the settlement announced Monday limit how Juul can market and advertise in Pennsylvania. 

The company can't target sales to youth, put up billboards within 1,000 feet of schools or claim that its product is safer than combustible tobacco products in Pennsylvania. The terms also limit online sales. 

The $38.8 million paid in the settlement will go to the Pennsylvania Department of Health's Bureau of Health Promotion and Risk Reduction to fund programs aimed at reducing the harms alleged in the lawsuit.

When the lawsuit was filed, the Health Department said there had been 61 confirmed and 59 probable cases of vaping products associated lung injury in Pennsylvania.   

Shapiro said about 13% of Pennsylvania students have vaped in the past 30 days and said the settlement "is only the beginning of keeping our kids safe from the dangers of vaping."