Electronic Cigarette Company Juul Agrees to $440Mln Settlement in Underage Vaping Probe

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The electronic cigarette company Juul Labs, Inc. has agreed to pay $440 million to dozens of US states to settle an investigation into the company's marketing campaign allegedly targeting youth, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said.

"Attorney General William Tong today led 34 states and territories in announcing a $438.5 million agreement in principle with Juul Labs, resolving a two-year bipartisan investigation into the e-cigarette manufacturer’s marketing and sales practices," Tong said in a press release on Tuesday.

Tong also said the settlement will end the company's marketing campaign to the youth, which he claimed had created a new generation of nicotine addicts, and will send millions of dollars across the United States to reduce tobacco use.

In July, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suspended its order directing Juul Labs to remove its electronic cigarettes from the market.

In June, the FDA banned Juul from selling its electronic cigarettes in the United States. The scrutiny of the vaping market, 70% of which is controlled by Juul, came after a series of deaths and severe lung disease cases that the authorities linked to youth e-cigarette use.