Juul Reaches $40M Settlement With North Carolina

While continuing to deny any wrongdoing, Juul Labs, maker of the popular Juul e-cigarette, has agreed to pay the state of North Carolina $40 million after reaching a settlement over the state’s claims that the company targeted its products towards youths.

Woman Vaping Juul — This photo shows a woman holding a Juul e-cigarette.

As per the terms of the settlement, Juul has agreed to:

Not use advertisements that might have youth appeal
Mostly avoid advertising on social media and using influencers
Not sponsor sporting events
Not sponsor entertainment events
Not use anyone below the age of 35 in its marketing efforts
Use a “secret shopper” program to help enforce age restrictions

The secret shopper program aimed at enforcing age restrictions entails the company sending overcover reps between the ages of 21 and 27 to a minimum of 50 stores throughout the state in an attempt to verify whether or not stores selling their products verify the age of customers buying their products.