JUUL / E-Cigarette Flavored Vape Youth Addiction State AG Settlements

Juul Labs, once the dominant e-cigarette manufacturer in the United States, faced a sweeping wave of litigation alleging that it specifically designed and marketed its nicotine vaping products — with appealing flavors, social media campaigns, and school-based promotional activities — to hook underage users. The core federal MDL, consolidated in the Northern District of California, included cases from individual consumers, parents of minors, school districts burdened with vaping-related disciplinary and health costs, and state attorneys general. Plaintiffs alleged that Juul concealed the extraordinarily high nicotine content of its pods and knowingly targeted teenagers, contributing to what the U.S. Surgeon General described as a youth vaping epidemic.

Juul settled the foundational consumer and personal injury class actions for approximately $255 million in 2022, followed by a sweeping $438.5 million multistate settlement with 33 state attorneys general. Additional settlements with individual states, school districts, and tribal governments pushed the cumulative total well past $1.2 billion. Juul, which had been partially acquired by Altria (parent of Marlboro), also separately resolved related litigation with shareholders and regulators. The FDA issued — and later stayed — a market denial order against Juul products. While new individual personal injury cases continue to be filed, the major class settlements have been approved and claims processes completed or underway.