Juul Labs and Altria have reached a settlement with the state of Minnesota in a teen vaping lawsuit that has the infamous e-cigarette company and Altria, which once owned a 35% stake in the vape company that it purchased for $13 billion, agreeing to pay the state $60.5 million. This raises the total amount that Juul has agreed to pay to settle various lawsuits to over $1 billion.
The lawsuit against the company was filed by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. “If they got paid by selling deceptive and harmful products to our kids, we got our money back,” Ellison said. He called the amount that was secured in the settlement “larger than all of the money Juul made in Minnesota between 2015 and 2021.”
Minnesota officials said that the majority of the funds secured in the settlement agreement are to go towards programs aimed at reducing teen tobacco use.
Altria, one of the largest tobacco companies in the world, was added as a co-defendant to the lawsuit in 2020. At the time, Altria had a significant investment in Juul Labs, which it has since dumped as Juul’s valuation has tanked. The company exited its stake in Juul and bought NJOY, another popular vape brand in the United States, for $2.75 billion.
Altria has stated that it believes the claims against them in the lawsuit and other Juul-related lawsuits “are without merit,” Axios reported.
The settlement amount is to be paid over the course of eight years. As per the settlement agreement, Juul must publicly release internal documents related to the litigation. Juul is also now banned from advertising on apparel, social media, and entertainment platforms, and is required to create a retail compliance program that relates to age verification. Flavored products, free samples, and sponsored events also have new restrictions for the company under the settlement agreement.
In other Juul news, the company is suing the FDA, Altria sued RJ Reynolds for vape patent infringement and won, and Juul now has a portable charging case to keep its devices charged on the go.
