In the last few years, the infamous manufacturer has been plagued by lawsuits amid accusations that it has been promoting its products to minors. As a result of a lawsuit filed by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson in September 2020, earlier this year Juul had agreed to pay $22.5 million and undertake measures to prevent teen vaping.
In line with claims by other lawsuits, AG Bob Ferguson accused Juul of marketing its products to minors. Despite the settlement, Juul admitted no wrongdoing and was quoted by the Associated Press as referring to the action “another step in our ongoing effort to reset our company and resolve issues from the past.”
As part of the settlement agreement, Juul is not allowed to promote its products on social media or use any marketing tactics that could appeal to adolescents. The brand agreed to monitor and report social media posts from underage users about its products and to require an adult’s signature on delivery of products purchased online.
Juul accused of having an ineffective age verification system in place
Meanwhile, an ongoing multi state lawsuit and investigation has accused the company of having in place a non-effective age verification system for its products, due to which 45% of its Twitter followers were aged between 13 and 17. To this effect, Juul has tentatively agreed to pay $438.5 million to settle the investigation.
“We think that this will go a long way in stemming the flow of youth vaping,” said William Tong, Connecticut’s Attorney General, at a news conference on Tuesday. “We are under no illusions and cannot claim that it will stop youth vaping. It continues to be an epidemic. It continues to be a huge problem. But we have essentially taken a big chunk out of what was once a market leader.”
The suing states were Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
In other news, as the Juul ban in the US remains under review, local consumers are already starting to consider other brands. Vape retailers are reporting that customers are already transitioning to alternative brands. Will Montgomery, a sales representative for Aj’s Liquor, highlighted that even if the Juul ban goes into effect, vape sales will not be affected as consumers will just migrate to different brands. “People are still going to need nicotine,” he said.
