ONE OF THE world’s biggest vape manufacturers has been ordered to pay almost half a billion dollars to six US states after it was found to have unlawfully marketed its products to children.

Juul agreed to pay $462 million (€420 million) to California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York and the District of Columbia to settle the charges.

The agreement follows an earlier $438.5 million (€398 million) Juul settlement with 34 other US states and marks the latest black mark on the e-cigarette company.

Juul has been blamed for a surge in youth vaping in the US over its marketing of fruit and sweet-flavoured e-cigarettes, which it stopped selling in 2019.

In January 2020, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said sale of e-cigarettes in flavors other than tobacco or menthol would be illegal unless specifically authorized by the government.

Last year, the FDA said it was ordering all products made by Juul Labs off the market after finding the vaping giant had failed to address certain safety concerns.

However, a US Court suspended the FDA’s action the following dayafter the company appealed the decision.

“Juul lit a nationwide public health crisis by putting addictive products in the hands of minors and convincing them that it’s harmless – today they are paying the price for the harm they caused,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James.

James sued Juul in November 2019, alleging the company glamourised smoking, devised “fruity, sweet and minty” flavors meant to appeal to youth and misled consumers about the safety of its products.

She said the settlement will fund underage vaping abatement programs in the US, while also adding restrictions on products sold at stores and imposing age verification requirements online.

Juul has also been barred from marketing to young people, cannot provide free samples to consumers, and must undertake regular retail compliance checks at some stores.

On its website, Juul described the agreement as “another critical part in our ongoing commitment to resolve issues from the company’s past.”

“With this settlement, we are nearing total resolution of the company’s historical legal challenges and securing certainty for our future.”

Experts have warned that the popularity of flavoured e-cigarettes, which were invented for and marketed towards adults who are trying to quit smoking, among young people is a cause for concern.

The European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks found that there was moderate evidence that electronic cigarettes are a gateway to smoking for young people.

On the other hand, it also found there to be weak evidence for the support of electronic cigarettes’ effectiveness in helping smokers to quit.

Last year, advocacy officer of the Irish Heart Foundation Mark Murphy, welcomed the initial ban on Juul, calling it a step in the right direction for public health.

“Juul was the first big brand that really was the cause of the massive teen vaping epidemic over there,” he said.

He pointed out that a major shareholder in Juul is Altria Group, Inc, a tobacco producer.

“These companies market e-cigarettes as this great healthy alternative that saves people’s lives because it stops them smoking, meanwhile they are the ones who are profiting from the same smokers whether they transition to vaping or not,” he said.

“When it comes to most of the major cigarette brands, like Vibe and VIP, they are owned by major tobacco companies like British American Tobacco.

“The fact that they’re moving into E-cigarettes is concerning, because they want to continue making profits by making a whole new generation of people addicted to nicotine.”

The HSE does not recommend vaping as a method of quitting smoking, and found it to be less useful for smoking cessation than nicotine gum or patches.

Vape sellers previously told the Oireachtas Health Committee that that there are no “foolproof” age verification systems for online e-cigarettes websites. 

Joanna O’Connell of Vapourpal said their website “only stocks flavours that our adult customers request”. 

“They’re not attracted by the packaging, they are attracted by the flavour. That specific flavour that you’re speaking of that’s on our website is one of the most popular fruit flavoured e-liquids among adults,” she said. 

Declan Connolly of ezSmoke.ie said that he sells the “Dr Frost Lemonade Fizz” flavoured product “because there’s a demand for it”.

“I will accept that the packaging on that product to me should be should be better and should be more more more responsible,” he said. adding that he would like to “sit down with legislators” about how best to do that.

He also acknowledged that more work was needed on age verification.

“I still don’t have a foolproof age verification system on the website, I’ll put my hands up and accept that,” he said.

© AFP 2023, with additional reporting from Jane Moore