JUUL Litigation
Holding JUUL accountable for the Vaping Epidemic
- After nearly ending smoking and nicotine addiction in teenagers, the United States now faces a youth nicotine epidemic of historic proportions.
- JUUL – the leading manufacturer of e-cigarettes that controls the U.S. market – falsely marketed its products as a safer alternative to traditional tobacco products, using colorful packaging and fruity flavors to attract young consumers.
- School boards have been forced onto the front lines of this epidemic as they have had to direct valuable resources, such as time, money, and staff towards disciplinary action and vaping prevention efforts.
- Schochor, Federico and Staton, P.A. is representing school boards across the country in litigation against e-cigarette maker JUUL, as the company’s irresponsible marketing methods contributed to America’s teen vaping epidemic and that has severely impacted public school settings.
The battle to end nicotine addiction and its associated diseases and death has consumed our nation’s public health resources for more than half a century. In 2014, rates of smoking and nicotine addiction in this country were finally at an all-time low, particularly among teenagers. Then, in 2015, JUUL was launched.
JUUL Labs, Inc. is an electronic cigarette company known for its JUUL e-cigarette, a vaping device used to deliver high concentrations of nicotine through nicotine salts from leaf tobacco packaged into one-time use cartridges. JUUL was a pioneer in the vape industry to the point that the term “juuling” is synonymous with using e-cigarettes. JUUL’s ads appeared on Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, educational sites for middle school and high school students (such as coolmath.com), and targeted websites for young girls (such as Seventeen Magazine).
Now, the United States faces a youth nicotine epidemic of historic proportions. The Surgeon General has warned that this new “epidemic of youth e-cigarette use” could condemn a generation to “a lifetime of nicotine addiction and associated health risks.” Despite how they have been marketed, JUUL products are not safe, with links to serious health problems and much higher concentrations of nicotine that make them even more addictive than traditional tobacco products.
Our Fight on Behalf of School Boards
Schochor, Federico and Staton, P.A. is representing nearly 50 school boards across the country in litigation against JUUL. Because JUUL targeted young consumers, school districts across the country have had to address the issue of rampant in-school vaping. Preventing in-school vaping and trying to help addicted students has become a time-consuming, expensive, and disruptive problem for school districts. Instead of putting their limited money towards valuable educational tools, school boards have had to take on expenses related to vaping prevention, from personnel costs including counseling, event monitoring, and prevention education to the installation of vaping detectors in restrooms and disciplinary actions.
Schools and school districts deserve advocates who can help them recover the costs incurred, and that will be incurred, due to the vaping epidemic that JUUL has profited from. With more than three decades achieving outstanding results for our clients, more than 45 districts having turned to Schochor, Federico and Staton, P.A. We are committed to bringing responsible parties to the table, or the courtroom, to pay for the damage wrought by the intentional promotion and distribution of addictive drugs. SFS also represents over 60 cities and counties in National Prescription Opiate litigation.
