DE AG Jennings Announces $438.5 million Multi-state Agreement with JUUL Labs
Delaware will recover possibly up to $8.5-million in a multi-state agreement with JUUL Labs after a two-year investigation into the e-cigarette manufacturer’s marketing and sales practices. The Delaware Attorney General’s office says the settlement also forces JUUL to comply with a series of strict injunctive terms that severely limit their marketing and sales practices.
From the Attorney General’s Release:
Delaware stands to recover between $7.8 million and $8.5 million under the agreement.
“Our greatest responsibility is to our children,” said Attorney General Jennings. “Delaware and our sister states have spent decades educating kids and adults alike on the dangers of smoking. JUUL’s conduct contributed to a troubling backslide in that work. That has been illustrated by an explosion of e-cigarette use by teenagers who, for the first time in a generation, are seeing more ads for nicotine, not fewer—to say nothing of misleading claims about these products’ safety. I’m hopeful that this settlement and the business changes it requires from JUUL will help bring us back on track, and I’m grateful to the entire team that participated in this investigation and helped negotiate this settlement on behalf of the states.”
JUUL was, until recently, the dominant player in the vaping market. The multi-state 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 them to purchase and are unhealthy for youth 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 known to be attractive to underage users. JUUL also manipulated the chemical composition of its product to make the vapor less harsh on the throats of the young and inexperienced users. To preserve its young customer base, JUUL relied on age verification techniques that it knew were ineffective.
The investigation further revealed that JUUL’s original packaging was misleading in that it did not clearly disclose that it contained nicotine and implied that it contained a lower concentration of nicotine than it actually did. Consumers were also misled to believe that consuming one JUUL pod was the equivalent of smoking one pack of combustible cigarettes. The company also misrepresented that its product was a smoking cessation device without FDA approval to make such claims.
The states are in the process of finalizing and executing the settlement documents, a process that takes approximately 3-4 weeks. The $438.5 million would be paid out over a period of six to ten years, with the amounts paid increasing the longer the company takes to make the payments. If JUUL chooses to extend the payment period up to ten years, the final settlement would reach $476.6 million. Both the financial and injunctive terms exceed any prior agreement JUUL has reached with states to date.
As part of the settlement, JUUL has agreed to refrain from:
- Youth marketing
- Funding education programs
- Depicting persons under age 35 in any marketing
- Use of cartoons
- Paid product placement
- Sale of brand name merchandise
- Sale of flavors not approved by FDA
- Allowing access to websites without age verification on landing page
- Representations about nicotine not approved by FDA
- Misleading representations about nicotine content
- Sponsorships/naming rights
- Advertising in outlets unless 85 percent audience is adult
- Advertising on billboards
- Public transportation advertising
- Social media advertising (other than testimonials by individuals over the age of 35, with no health claims)
- Use of paid influencers
- Direct-to-consumer ads unless age-verified, and
- Free samples.
The agreement also includes sales and distribution restrictions, including where the product may be displayed/accessed in stores, online sales limits, retail sales limits, age verification on all sales, and a retail compliance check protocol.
