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Kentucky to get $14M from multi-state settlement with e-cigarette company. Here’s why

Kentucky will get a piece of a larger $435 million settlement with e-cigarette company Juul over its marketing and sales practices that targeted children.

Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced Wednesday Kentucky will see $14 million from Juul. The first settlement payment of $1.3 million is due by Dec. 31.

The agreement the end of talks between 34 state attorneys general and Juul and follows a two-year investigation by the group of states that found the company illegally and knowingly advertised its products to minors.

“Kentucky’s consumer protection laws prohibit deceptive marketing and sales practices, and we joined this settlement to ensure underage Kentuckians are not enticed to make illegal purchases because of these advertisements,” Cameron said in a news release Wednesday.

What led to the multi-state lawsuit with Juul?

Several Kentucky school districts, including its two largest, Fayette County Public Schools and Jefferson County Public Schools, signed onto a lawsuit challenging Juul in late 2019.

A 2018 survey from Kentucky Incentives for Prevention found e-cigarettes had surpassed alcohol as the most widely used substance among young people in the commonwealth.

Despite a previous decrease in use between 2014 and 2016, electronic cigarette use by Kentucky 10th graders shot up 11.4 percentage points to 23.2% in 2018, the survey found.

In Fayette County Public Schools, school principals at the time told the Herald-Leader that while the products are helpful for adults to curb their nicotine addictions, it led to increased addiction among students.

More broadly, public health advocates worried it would roll back Kentucky’s success with cutting smoking rates and produce a whole new generation of smokers in the state.

What does the settlement mean for Kentucky students?

A spokesperson for Cameron’s office wrote in an email to the Herald-Leader that the settlement money will be deposited into the state’s general fund, minus the cost of the litigation for the state.

According to the release, Juul will also have to reform how it does business going forward, including refraining from the following:

  • Advertising to youth and depicting users under the age of 35 in its marketing materials

  • Selling flavored products that have not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

  • Making misleading statements regarding the nicotine content of its products

  • Allowing website access without age verification on the landing page

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