Under considerable public and regulatory pressure, Juul agreed to withdraw many of its flavored products from the market, which significantly diminished its dominant sales prowess and paved the way for competitors to step in.
A plethora of other e-cigarette companies have filled the space left by Juul, offering vapes in rainbow colors and flavors like key lime cookie, apple juice and strawberry ice cream. The surge has posed an enforcement dilemma for the Food and Drug Administration, which has authorized fewer than two dozen vaping products. In a recent congressional hearing, Dr. Robert Califf, the agency’s commissioner, said he would be consulting with the Justice Department to consider options for removing illegal products, including flavored vapes, from the market.
This new settlement with some of the nation’s largest states caps several moves by Juul to resolve thousands of lawsuits by individuals and other plaintiffs in the last few years.
The company just this month settled claims by West Virginia for $7.9 million.
In December, the company agreed to pay $1.7 billion over lawsuits brought by more than 5,000 individuals, school districts and local governments. In September, the company settled lawsuits filed by more than 30 states, for $438.5 million.
In the Minnesota trial that began a few weeks ago, Keith Ellison, the state attorney general, opened the proceedings by accusing the company of getting teenagers hooked on e-cigarettes “so they could make money.”
“They baited, deceived, and addicted a whole new generation of kids after Minnesotans slashed youth smoking rates down to the lowest level in a generation,” Mr. Ellison said.
Like other settlements, the latest requires Juul to refrain from marketing to youths. The agreement also requires Juul to stop offering free or “nominally priced” products to consumers, and from using “product placement” in virtual reality, as it had for programming viewed on the Oculus system.
