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Juul Labs, an American electronic cigarette company, chose to settle its vaping lawsuit in West Virginia, and as a penalty, it will be paying $7.9 million. The settlement was announced by the state’s attorney general on Monday, April 10.
The West Virginia state accused Juul Labs of unfair and deceptive practices in its promotion and marketing of its e-cigarette products. The state also said that the ads have specifically targeted teenagers.
As per CNN Business, the vaping lawsuit further claimed that Juul has been focusing on attracting the attention of underage users via social media, fashion bloggers, popular celebrities, and hiring influencers for its marketing strategy.
Patrick Morrisey, the West Virginia attorney general, further said the court claimed that Juul Labs duped the consumers about the nicotine content in its products. The court said the company misrepresented the nicotine strength of its products by comparing them to traditional cigarettes.
The lawsuit stated that the e-cigarette maker violated West Virginia’s Consumer Credit and Protection Act. Morrisey said about 14.3% of the high school population in West Virginia have used e-cigarettes at least once in the last 30 days, and this percentage is even higher than the national average, which is just 13.2%. This is the latest settlement that Juul Labs has faced. It previously settled a similar case with 34 states which cost it a whopping $438.5 million.
"This settlement puts companies like Juul in check to not copy big tobacco's playbook and gear marketing strategies toward underage people," CBS News’ Moneywatch quoted West Virginia’s attorney general as saying in a statement. "In Juul's case, we have alleged it has deceived consumers about its nicotine strength, misrepresented the nicotine equivalency of its products to traditional cigarettes and understated the risks of addiction that occur with such powerful levels of nicotine."
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