Chautauqua County will receive more than $800,000 to address youth vaping.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James secured a total of $112.7 million for New York State from JUUL Labs Inc. (JUUL) for its pivotal role in the surge of underage e-cigarette use across the nation.
The money will be distributed to every county, Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), and the five largest cities in the state to support initiatives aimed at reducing and preventing underage vaping.
Chautauqua County will receiver over $800,000 with Erie 2-Cattaraugus-Chautauqua BOCES receiving $563,121.
Since JUUL’s launch in 2015, e-cigarette use among New York high school students skyrocketed. By 2019, vaping-related illnesses led to more than 2,500 hospitalizations nationwide. In October 2019, a 17-year-old from the Bronx became New York’s first vaping-related fatality and the youngest such fatality in the U.S.
In November 2019, Attorney General James sued JUUL for deceptive marketing that glamorized vaping and targeted young people. By April 2023, she secured the largest multistate agreement with JUUL and its former directors and executives for their role in the youth vaping epidemic. JUUL misled consumers about the nicotine content and safety of its products and failed to prevent minors from purchasing them.
The settlement funds will be used for evidence-based measures to combat underage vaping and e-cigarette addiction.
Counties and BOCES must dedicate the funds to programs in five categories:
1. Public education campaigns to prevent e-cigarette use among young people.
2. Community, school, and university-based anti-vaping programs.
3. Vaping cessation services in communities, schools, and colleges.
4. Enforcement of vaping laws and regulations.
5. Public health research into e-cigarette use among young people and the effectiveness of anti-vaping programs.
In addition to the $112.7 million payment to New York, the settlement requires JUUL to implement significant changes to its sales and marketing practices, including:
– No marketing targeting youth, including using individuals under 35 in promotions or sponsoring youth education/prevention campaigns.
– Limiting individual retail and online purchases.
– Conducting regular retail compliance checks at 5% of New York’s JUUL retailers for at least four years.
– Treating synthetic nicotine as nicotine.
– Prohibiting free or nominally priced JUUL pod samples.
– Avoiding product placement in virtual reality systems.
– Increasing funding for a document depository by up to $5 million and adding millions of documents to inform the public about JUUL’s role in the public health crisis.
Leave a Reply