Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Juul will pay $438.5 million to settle an investigation by dozens of US states into the marketing practices blamed for kicking off the teen and youth vaping crisis.
“JUUL’s cynically calculated advertising campaigns created a new generation of nicotine addicts,” said Connecticut Attorney General William Tong in a statement announcing the deal Tuesday. The two-year investigation found Juul marketed to underage users, had misleading packaging that hid the amount of nicotine in its devices, and created a product that could be easily concealed.
The settlement also puts restrictions on its marketing practices going forward: the company said it won’t fund education programs, include people under 35 in marketing, sell merchandise, or give out…
