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Juul approves to pay $40 million to settle suit with North Carolina

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Juul Labs has settled to shell out $40 million for North Carolina and alter its business strategies in the state.

Fingers were pointed at the company as regulators and health officials believe they were behind the notable ffame of e-cigarettes among youngsters in the past years. Federal data from 2019 proved that there had been an 11.7 percent increase among teens who had used e-cigarettes, or is synonymous to more than one out of four high school students. The boost on regulatory examination and the current health crisis have helped lower the number by 19.6 percent as of last year.

“North Carolina is now the first state in the nation to hold Juul accountable for its instrumental role in creating a youth vaping epidemic,” Attorney General Josh Stein of Carolina, who disclosed the settlement between the two parties, said.

The state has started its probe on the matter in 2018 and the following year, it announced that it will pursue a lawsuit. According to the judge’s ruling in May, the company has wrecked documents, given several pages of unrelated data and turned down relevant court orders. While millions of dollars accompany the ruling, the deal disclosed on Monday set a fresh start.

Juul, according to the agreement, will be subjected to restrictions. They will no longer be allowed to focus its advertising to teens, field someone younger than 35 years of age and hire influencers to advertise its products.

In addition, they will also be limited in the number of products they will be able to sell in the state monthly and annually. The company’s $40 million payment, meanwhile, will be allotted to help e-cigarette-addicted teens and on preventive undertakings.

“This settlement is consistent with our ongoing effort to reset our company and its relationship with our stakeholders, as we continue to combat underage usage and advance the opportunity for harm reduction for adult smokers,” the company’s spokesperson told CNBC.