Chairman Krishnamoorthi Applauds Settlement Forcing Juul To Pay $439 Million Over Marketing Its E-Cigarettes To Teens In Wake Of His Youth Vaping Investigation

WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, issued the following statement hailing the announcement of a $439 million settlement between Juul and 34 states and territories as a result of the vaping giant's targeting of teens for its nicotine products, which was revealed by his subcommittee's ongoing investigation which he launched in the spring of 2019:

"Just over three years ago, I launched my subcommittee investigation into the youth vaping epidemic and quickly uncovered Juul's marketing of its product to kids through advertising, kid-friendly fruity flavors, configuring its highly addictive product to appeal to new users, and misleading the public about both its addictiveness and nicotine content. I'm heartened to see the success of the Attorneys General in their suit and am glad to see the settlement in securing not only funding for programs to reduce tobacco use, but also Juul's agreement to refrain from marketing to young people through billboards, transit advertisements, paid influencers, or even depicting anyone under the age of 35 in its advertisements. This settlement will rein in Juul's predatory behavior, support new efforts to prevent youth addiction, and will send a clear message to every vaping company - from Big Tobacco to the latest startups - that our kids are not for sale."

Since 2019, the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy has held four hearings on the youth vaping epidemic in America and JUUL's role in fueling the crisis, and released new information showing how JUUL deliberately targeted children to get them hooked on their products.

On January 2, 2020, Chairman Krishnamoorthi condemned the Trump Administration's weakened vaping guidance, which broke the former President's promise to protect America's youth by clearing the market of all e-cigarette flavors, including menthol.

On January 23, 2020, the Chair sent a letter to the FDA about its plans to enforce the Trump Administration's partial ban on flavored vaping pods, requesting the FDA monitor, in real time, the large number of children who will migrate to menthol e-cigarettes from other now-banned flavors.

In April 2021, the Chair applauded FDA's announcement of its plan to ban menthol cigarettes to protect public health and contribute to racial justice.

On February 15, 2022, Chairman Krishnamoorthi called on the new FDA Commissioner, Dr. Robert Califf, to act quickly and rule on all outstanding e-cigarette applications and ban all flavored e-cigarettes.