Congressman Krishnamoorthi Applauds Settlement With States Forcing Juul To Pay $462 Million For Aggressively Marketing E-Cigarettes To Adolescents
The settlement was reached between the vaping company and several states following Congressman Krishnamoorthi’s multi-year investigation
WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, the former Chairman of the Oversight Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, issued the following statement hailing the announcement of a $462 million settlement between Juul, states, cities, and individuals as a result of the vaping giant's targeting of teens for its nicotine products. These practices were previously uncovered through the Congressman's multi-year investigation into the youth vaping epidemic, which he launched in the spring of 2019.
"Four years ago, I launched my subcommittee investigation into our nation's youth vaping epidemic and uncovered Juul's targeted marketing of its nicotine products to our children through kid-oriented advertising, kid-friendly fruity flavors, and by configuring its highly addictive product to appeal to new users while misleading the public about its addictive nicotine content. I'm heartened to see the success of the Attorneys General and their states in securing this settlement and holding Juul accountable for deliberately formulating and marketing its addictive e-cigarettes to our kids. This news should send a clear message to Big Tobacco and the latest vaping 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.