New HampshireDepartment of JusticeOffice of the Attorney General

News Release

For Immediate Release
September 6, 2022

Contact:
Michael S. Garrity, Director of Communications
michael.s.garrity@doj.nh.gov | (603) 931-9375

Brandon H. Garod, Senior Assistant Attorney General
Brandon.H.Garod@doj.nh.gov | (603) 271-1217

New Hampshire Attorney General, 34 States Reach $438.5 Million Agreement with JUUL Labs

Concord, NH – Attorney General John M. Formella announced today a $438.5 million agreement in principle between JUUL Labs and 34 states and territories resolving a two-year bipartisan investigation into the e-cigarette manufacturer's marketing and sales practices. In addition to the financial terms, the settlement would force JUUL to comply with a series of strict injunctive terms severely limiting their marketing and sales practices.

Under the terms of the agreement, New Hampshire will receive at least $8,454,901.22 over a period of six to ten years, with the total amount paid increasing the longer the company takes to make payments.

"JUUL pushed an entire generation toward e-cigarette use and nicotine addiction. The company recklessly targeted our children with deceptive and targeted marketing practices, created a public health crisis, and irresponsibly put profits over the health of our young people," said Attorney General Formella. "From their kid-friendly flavors to their sales practices that misled children, JUUL acted with intent, giving young people false impressions regarding their products' safety, nicotine content and smoking cessation effectiveness. At the end of the day JUUL reversed decades of public health progress in the fight against smoking and addiction. This settlement is one major step toward reversing that trend."

JUUL was, until recently, the dominant player in the vaping market. The multistate investigation revealed that JUUL rose to this position by willfully engaging in an advertising campaign that appealed to youth, even though its e-cigarettes are both illegal for them to purchase and are unhealthy for youth to use. The investigation found that JUUL relentlessly marketed to underage users with launch parties, advertisements using young and trendy-looking models, social media posts and free samples. It marketed a technology-focused, sleek design that could be easily concealed and sold its product in flavors known to be attractive to underage users. JUUL also manipulated the chemical composition of its product to make the vapor less harsh on the throats of the young and inexperienced users. To preserve its young customer base, JUUL relied on age verification techniques that it knew were ineffective.

The investigation further revealed that JUUL's original packaging was misleading in that it did not clearly disclose that it contained nicotine and implied that it contained a lower concentration of nicotine than it actually did.  Consumers were also misled to believe that consuming one JUUL pod was the equivalent of smoking one pack of combustible cigarettes. The company also misrepresented that its product was a smoking cessation device without FDA approval to make such claims.

State attorneys general are in the process of finalizing and executing the settlement documents, a process that takes approximately 3-4 weeks. If JUUL chooses to extend the payment period up to ten years, the final settlement would reach $476.6 million. Both the financial and injunctive terms exceed any prior agreement JUUL has reached with any state to date.

As part of the settlement, JUUL has agreed to refrain from:

  • Youth marketing
  • Funding education programs
  • Depicting persons under age 35 in any marketing
  • Use of cartoons
  • Paid product placement
  • Sale of brand name merchandise
  • Sale of flavors not approved by FDA
  • Allowing access to websites without age verification on landing page
  • Representations about nicotine not approved by FDA
  • Misleading representations about nicotine content
  • Sponsorships/naming rights
  • Advertising in outlets unless 85 percent audience is adult
  • Advertising on billboards
  • Public transportation advertising
  • Social media advertising (other than testimonials by individuals over the age of 35, with no health claims)
  • Use of paid influencers
  • Direct-to-consumer ads unless age-verified, and
  • Free samples.

The agreement also includes sales and distribution restrictions, including where the product may be displayed/accessed in stores, online sales limits, retail sales limits, age verification on all sales, and a retail compliance check protocol.

New Hampshire Department of Justice
1 Granite Place South | Concord, NH | 03301
Telephone: 603-271-3658