New York AG Sends $13M To Combat Hudson Valley Youth Vaping Epidemic

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Millions of dollars from a huge settlement with vape giant JUUL will come to the Hudson Valley.

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced on Friday that the Hudson Valley will receive over $13 million from the historic $462 million multistate settlement with JUUL Labs Inc. (JUUL) for its role in a youth vaping epidemic.

New York will receive a total of $112.7 million through this settlement, which James will distribute to every county, Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), and the five largest cities in the state to support programs that will help reduce and prevent underage vaping.

"E-cigarette use among young New Yorkers shot up after JUUL flooded the market with advertising aimed at teenagers and lies about the safety of its products," James said. "Now young people are suffering from physical and mental health issues fueled by vaping addiction. This settlement puts new limits on JUUL’s marketing and will provide leaders in the Hudson Valley over $13 million to implement new anti-vaping programs to protect our kids. I want to thank our partners in the Hudson Valley who will put these funds to use to stop the youth vaping epidemic."

The funds will be split between the Yonkers City School District, and counties and BOCES in the Hudson Valley:

Counties

• Westchester County: $2,722,278.52
• Orange County: $1,379,565.77
• Rockland County: $1,161,651.38
• Dutchess County: $1,141,432.42
• Ulster County: $644,402.70
• Putnam County: $511,067.37
• Sullivan County: $481,474.24

School Districts / BOCES

• Southern Westchester BOCES: $1,226,848.77
• Putnam-Northern Westchester BOCES: $818,062.61
• Orange-Ulster BOCES: $799,258.74
• Rockland BOCES: $686,468.53
• Dutchess BOCES: $618,362.25
• Yonkers City School District: $405,020.84
• Ulster BOCES: $317,582.86
• Sullivan BOCES: $150,488.46

After JUUL launched in 2015, e-cigarette use among New York high school students skyrocketed, according to James. By 2019, the proliferation of vaping led to a national outbreak of severe vaping-related illnesses, with more than 2,500 hospitalizations. In October 2019, a 17-year-old from the Bronx died due to a vaping-related illness, making him the first reported vaping-related fatality in New York, and the youngest vaping-related fatality in the U.S.

In November 2019, Attorney General James sued JUUL for its deceptive and misleading marketing that glamorized vaping and targeted young people. In April 2023, Attorney General James secured the largest multistate agreement with JUUL and its former directors and executives for their role in fueling the youth vaping epidemic.

The A.G. contends JUUL misled consumers about the nicotine content of its products, misrepresented the safety and therapeutic value of its products by stating that they were safer than cigarettes, and failed to prevent minors from purchasing its products in stores across the country.

"Southern Westchester BOCES is deeply appreciative of the successful efforts by the Office of the Attorney General in advocating for the health and safety of young people in our community," Southern Westchester BOCES District Superintendent Harold Coles said. "Vaping and e-cigarette use are matters of great concern for our BOCES and for our component school districts. We take seriously our obligations in receiving a portion of the settlement funds and, in partnership with our component districts, are committed to providing programs that educate and benefit our communities to the greatest extent possible."

The settlement funds will be used for evidence-based measures to combat underage vaping and e-cigarette addiction, James said.

"We would like to thank Attorney General Letitia James for her steadfast commitment to what has become a dangerous issue among young people across New York State," Westchester County Executive George Latimer said. "We have all seen the harmful health effects stemming from JUUL and other e-cigarette products. This additional funding will help us to educate, inform, and implement new anti-vaping measures, ultimately reducing nicotine use and addiction among our kids."

Counties and BOCES must dedicate the settlement funds they receive to programs in five categories:

• Public education campaigns to prevent e-cigarette use among young people.
• Community, school, and university-based anti-vaping programs.
• Vaping cessation services in communities, schools, and colleges.
• Enforcement of vaping laws and regulations.
• Public health research into e-cigarette use among young people and the effectiveness of anti-vaping programs.

In addition to paying New York $112.7 million, the settlement required JUUL to make significant changes to its sales and marketing tactics, including:

• Refraining from any marketing that targets youth, including using anyone under the age of 35 in promotional material or funding, operating youth education/prevention campaigns, or sponsoring school related activities.
• Limiting the amount of retail and online purchases an individual can make.
• Performing regular retail compliance checks at five percent of New York’s retail stores that sell JUUL’s products for at least four years.
• Treating synthetic nicotine as nicotine.
• Refraining from providing free or nominally priced JUUL pods as samples to consumers.
• Excluding product placement in virtual reality systems.
• Increasing funding to a document depository by up to $5 million and adding millions of relevant documents to the depository to inform the public on how JUUL created a public health crisis.

"This $13 million settlement is a significant step towards combating the youth vaping epidemic in Rockland County and the Hudson Valley," Rockland County Executive Ed Day said. "My administration pledges to utilize these funds to protect the health and future of our youth through educational campaigns about the dangers of vaping. This significant investment in awareness and intervention efforts, will ensure a healthier, smoke-free future for our children and communities."