Altria settles 6,000 lawsuits against Juul Labs – Kommersant

Manufacturer of tobacco and smoking products Altria Group settle about 6,000 lawsuits filed in federal and state courts in connection with claims against electronic cigarette manufacturer Juul Labs. The settlement provides for the manufacturer to pay $235 million to the plaintiffs, which include both private individuals and government agencies.

All lawsuits included in the settlement relate to claims against Juul Labs, in which Altria held a 35 percent stake from December 2018 to March 2023. Juul e-cigarettes were the most popular brand in the US in 2017-2018, and the manufacturing company’s share of the US e-cigarette market was 72%. However, at the end of 2018, regulators began checking Juul Labs due to an increase in the number of smokers among teenagers and young people. After that, the share of the manufacturer has been steadily declining, and the number of claims from consumers and government agencies has grown.

The plaintiffs accused the company of promoting its products to teenagers, including by featuring images of its products in films and cartoons, using images of young people in advertisements, giving away free samples, social media campaigns, presentations, and the like. Fall 2022 Juul Labs settled most of the lawsuits by agreeing to pay $438.5 million. The value of Altria’s stake in Juul Labs has dropped from $12.8 billion to $250 million over the past five years.

Commenting on the settlement agreement, Murray Garnik, Vice President of Altria Group, said they continue to believe that the allegations against Altria are unfounded, but are confident that “the settlement will help end the uncertainty and costs of a protracted legal process, which is in the interests of our shareholders.”

Alena Miklashevskaya