Amerial Page, Campus Carrier staff writer

Eric Zuniga, Campus Carrier staff writer

    Electronic cigarette manufacturer Juul has recently settled a lawsuit following an investigation into its marketing practices, agreeing to pay out over $400 million to 34 states, including Arizona, Louisiana and Washington. The states alleged that Juul, whose vaping products contain the highly addictive substance nicotine, intentionally marketed its products toward teenagers.  

            Eric Sands, associate professor of political science, explained that the investigation was prompted by a rise in e-cigarette use among teenagers, and described how Juul specifically targeted young people in its advertising.

            “There was an investigation that was begun two years ago, when we started seeing a rapid increase in the number of young people vaping,” Sands said. “It was suspected that Juul was intentionally marketing to kids. The investigation has shown that to be true.They were giving out free samples to kids. They had parties where kids were involved and their product was distributed. They had young people in their ads and all of that kind of stuff.” 

            Facing the threat of higher penalties after a potential jury trial, Juul has decided to negotiate a settlement with the states. The settlement, which has not been finalized yet, consists of a monetary payout of $438 million–approximately a third of Juul’s 2021 revenue–-in addition to mandatory changes to Juul’s marketing practices.

            “There’s two parts to it: there’s a financial component, and I think they awarded about $400 million,” Sands said. “And then there are new restrictions that have been placed on Juul’s marketing practices, some of which Juul has already implemented.”

            According to Sands, states are planning to use the settlement money to fund anti-vaping programs. This in combination with the advertising restrictions could result in a reversal of the trends of high e-cigarette use among teens.

            “The settlement money is largely being used by the states to invest in anti-smoking and anti-vaping campaigns. To the extent that those campaigns actually work, that might help in teen use of vaping and maybe use of vaping overall,” Sands added. “The other piece that could factor in are the specific limitations that are being put on Juul’s marketing practices, which are probably going to be adopted by other vaping products in the industry. I think they’re going to get the wake-up call that they’re going to get sued next if they don’t change the way that they’re marketing.”

            This settlement, however, is not the only legal action Juul has to worry about. As Sands explained, Juul faces additional lawsuits and an attempt by the FDA to take their products off the market.

            “This is not the only lawsuit. They still have many states that are suing them individually, like California and New York, that are going to be looking for huge payouts because of their population,” Sands said. “Juul was marketing their product as a stop-smoking product, which the FDA had never approved. The FDA tried to shut them down as false advertising, basically, but a judge overruled the FDA order, so Juul is still allowed to sell their product while the FDA is continuing their investigation.”

            Lauren Wehunt, director of the Berry College Health Center, explained that vaping and e-cigarette products like Juul’s contain nicotine, the same addictive substance found in cigarettes. Partly as a result of Juul’s advertising, e-cigarettes became both a common sight and a tough problem on high school campuses across the country.

            “A Juul pod is an electronic cigarette and menthol pod that does contain nicotine, which is marketed as an alternative to cigarette smoking,” Wehunt said. “They marketed it for a long time as being less harmful than other electronic cigarettes, so they used fruity, candy flavors and marketed it as unharmful. Underage vaping dramatically increased with the introduction of Juul and is seen a lot in high school settings. It got to where students would be vaping in between classes and in the bathrooms.”

            Nicotine dependence can cause serious effects on both mental and physical health. Jerry Jennings, professor of psychology, described some of the consequences of nicotine withdrawal, when someone who is addicted to the substance hasn’  received a dose in a significant amount of time.

            “Nicotine is an addictive drug, so now you’ve got somebody hooked on a delivery  system — the vaping delivery system — for the rest of their lives, making a bunch of money for the tobacco companies,” Jennings said

            “Once a person is addicted to nicotine, without it they will start to feel antsy and jittery,” Jennings said. “They will vape to help themselves ‘calm down,’ when it in fact is constricting the blood vessels in the body and making them more stressed.”

            According to Wehunt, excessive vaping can increase the risk of developing anxiety or depression, as well as cause respiratory issues and impaired brain development.

            “While we do stress that it does cause lung and heart issues, which is very important but it can also increase anxiety, depression and mental health issues,” Wehunt said “Most people, when they have these types of symptoms, come in with an elevated heart rate and shortness of breath related to their anxiety. They also have an increased risk of cigarette use and nicotine addiction. This also affects brain development, since your brain develops up until the age of 25.”

            The high physiological dependence caused by nicotine makes quitting vaping a difficult task for those who are addicted. According to Jennings, there are a few strategies for treatment of nicotine addiction, but all come with the risk of relapse.

            “It depends upon the person. Some people can just say, ‘I’m not doing it anymore’ and be successful,” Jennings said. “Some people are successful using a nicotine patch, and gradually reducing the amount of nicotine they take in. Some people are successful using the drug Chantix, though it has some side effects that are not necessarily pleasant. But it’s not unusual for someone who is trying to quit to have a relapse,”

            Berry maintains a non-smoking policy, which prohibits the use of cigarettes as well as vaping devices by students, faculty and staff on campus. While Wehunt could not confirm the prevalence of e-cigarette usage among students, she did say that the Health Center, located in the Ladd building, offers resources to students who may be struggling with addiction.

            “We can give students some resources to help them quit smoking and vaping, for sure,” Wehunt said. “Medication is not our first line of defense for anything, so we try to make sure we can get whatever outside resources we can use as well.”