Timeline of the Juul Class Action Lawsuit
Ever since the introduction of Juul, a brand of e-cigarettes, vaping has blown up among teens, young adults and just about everyone else. Juul hit the market in 2015 and became a leader in the vaping industry. The brand accounted for an estimated 75% of all e-cigarette sales. According to a 2020 JAMA Network scientific paper, an estimated 5.56 million adults vape in the U.S. According to the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey from the FDA and CDC, over 2.5 million high school and middle school students in the U.S. vape.
The popularity of e-cigarettes in a relatively new and unregulated environment has led to an alarming number of health conditions causing a public youth vaping epidemic. Juul and other e-cigarette brands began marketing their products as an alternative to traditional cigarettes. Today most e-cigarettes still have not gone through any FDA testing, review or approval so its impact on the general public has not been significantly studied.
The brand became popular with the younger generation. However, the youth were developing conditions only seen in older adults who had been smoking cigarettes and nicotine for years. The culprit, Juul. This led to a crackdown on the brand. It was followed by an incoming stream of lawsuits against the company mostly claiming they had participated in deceptive marketing of their products aimed at teens and young people. In July of 2022, the FDA ordered the e-cigarette company to stop selling their products placing it on a temporary hold. By June 2024, Juul had amassed an estimated 5,100 lawsuits from across the country alleging the company engaged in misleading and dishonest marketing of their product.
Timeline of Juul Class Action Lawsuits
Juul owns a quarter of the e-cigarette market and has been the driving force in this new industry. The rise in popularity of the product has led to a rise in lawsuits. Many of the people who have filed lawsuits say that became addicted to the vape, which has led to worsening of symptoms because they were unaware that the vape contained such high levels of nicotine.
Several states have joined the Juul class action lawsuit and have sued the e-cigarette company for contributing to the youth vaping epidemic. Some of the claims of the lawsuit allege that the company marketed its products in a way to attract minors, the company promoted nicotine use, and the company failed to adequately warn users of the risks of nicotine use and addiction. Other claims include failure to warn of the dangers of the product, intentional misrepresentation of the product and negligence.
There are wrongful death lawsuits, lawsuits that Juul pods can cause seizures and a lawsuit in which a man claimed his Juul vape was the cause of a massive stroke. There is another lawsuit that claims the company sold an estimated $1 million in contaminated vape pods. There are other lawsuits that link Juul to the development of lung diseases and lung injury due to the chemicals within the e-cigarette causing bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP).
- In November of 2021, Juul settled a case filed by the Arizona Attorney General that alleged the company of unlawful marketing tactics that targeted teens and youth, by downplaying the dangerous health risks associated with vaping and smoking nicotine.
- In September of 2022, Juul agreed to pay over $438 million to settle investigations over how they may have marketed their products to teens. Ultimately the company admitted to no wrongdoing.
- In December of 2022, Juul agreed to pay settlements between $1.2 and $1.7 billion across an estimated 5,000 cases in the state of California associated with the company’s marketing of the products and deceptive claims of addiction to the products.
- In January of 2023, a U.S. District judge in San Francisco approved a $255 million settlement to resolve a class action lawsuit alleging that the company deceptively marketed the e-cigarette and downplayed the risks of addiction to minors and young people.
- In April of 2023, Juul settled with Washington, D.C. for $462 million on claims with how the products were misleadingly marketed.
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What are e-cigarettes and what are the effects of vaping?
E-cigarettes such as Juul are small electronic devices that stimulate the act of smoking a traditional cigarette. Since its first introduction into the market, the term vaping has been used to describe using an e-cigarette. Vapes or e-cigarettes work by heating up small cartridges containing nicotine with flavorings and other chemicals into an aerosol form which can then be inhaled by the user.
The number of e-cigarette users is steadily growing alongside a growing addiction by teens and young adults. Its popularity in use has grown so much that the U.S. Surgeon General says there is now a vaping epidemic among the youth.
Why are young people vaping? In a general survey, about 39% of young people say other family members also vape, 31% of young people say they like the availability of enticing flavors, and about 17% of young people believe that vaping is less harmful to them compared to smoking cigarettes.
Is vaping safer than smoking a traditional cigarette? E-cigarettes can contain other harmful ingredients including nicotine. Acrolein, a known ingredient in many e-cigarette products, causes irreversible lung damage. Exposure to nicotine at a young age can harm youth brain development. In fact, studies have found that Juul’s nicotine content contained the highest level of nicotine compared to other e-cigarette brands. The amount of nicotine in one standard Juul pod is equivalent to the amount of nicotine in one pack of traditional cigarettes.
Juul has also been linked to a number of other health risks and problems including behavioral changes, cardiovascular disease, heart attack, mental health issues, nicotine poisoning, respiratory failure, lung problems, severe addiction, seizures, stroke and suicidal ideation. Early nicotine use can also harm brain development and alter nerve functioning in the brain which can contribute to an increased risk of addiction.
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Are you addicted to Vaping?
Vaping among young people has become so frequent, that the smell is apparent all over schools in the hallways, cafeterias and stairwells. Because of the widespread youth vaping epidemic, data has found that more than thousands of teens are now enrolled in treatment programs designed to help them quit vaping and quit nicotine.
With the prevalence of nicotine smoking along with the added bonus of flavorings to vape products, e-cigarette smoking has the ability to entice and target young customers. But once an addiction sets in, it can be extremely difficult to overcome.
In an attempt to curb the public health crisis, some schools have installed vape-detecting devices in bathrooms and other rooms. Some schools are using their settlement money to purchase more vape detectors, which can detect certain chemicals often emitted from devices during vaping. The most effective way to treat an addiction to nicotine is through a professional behavioral health treatment program such as Hotel California by the Sea.
We provide treatment at all levels of care including drug detox, inpatient residential treatment, PHP and IOP programs. Within each level of care, patients will also participate in evidence-proven treatment methods that include cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy and group therapy. These treatment methods allow clients to better understand the root causes of their addiction and teach them effective skills and techniques on how to manage triggers and cravings related to their addiction.
References:
https://www.npr.org/2024/06/21/1197959345/the-vapes-of-wrath
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/legal/product-liability/juul-lawsuit-update
https://www.drugwatch.com/e-cigarettes/lawsuits
https://www.lung.org/quit-smoking/e-cigarettes-vaping/e-cigarettes-parents