Tag: north carolina

First Juul Labs Lawsuit Settles for $40m in North Carolina
North Carolina has settled its lawsuit with Juul Labs for $40 million. The lawsuit is the first decision of numerous lawsuits that have been brought by states claiming the e-cigarette maker’s marketing practices was the catalyst to what the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has called an “epidemic” of youth use. The money will fund programs to help people quit e-cigarettes, prevent e-cigarette addiction, and research e-cigarettes.
Credit: Zimmytws
“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,” said Joshua Raffel, a Juul spokesperson, in a statement. “We seek to continue to earn trust through action. Over the past two years, for example, we ceased the distribution of our non-tobacco, non-menthol flavored products in advance of FDA guidance and halted all mass market product advertising. This settlement is another step in that direction.”
The settlement was announced on Monday by Josh Stein, the North Carolina attorney general, who said that Juul agreed to avoid marketing that appeals to those under the age of 21. The company will curtail its use of “most social media advertising, influencer advertising, outdoor advertising near schools, and sponsoring sporting events and concerts,” Stein said.
North Carolina sued the company in May of 2019, the first state in the country to file suit against the e-cigarette manufacturer. In the agreement, the company denies any wrongdoing or liability. Juul Labs will ensure its products are sold behind counters, the attorney general said. Juul Labs will also use third-party age verification systems for online sales. The order also commits Juul to sending teenage “mystery shoppers” to 1,000 stores each year, to check whether they are selling to minors.
It also bars the company from using models under age 35 in advertisements and states that no advertisements should be posted near schools. “For years Juul targeted young people, including teens, with highly addictive e-cigarettes,” said Stein in a statement. “It lit the spark and fanned the flames of a vaping epidemic among our children — one that you can see in any high school in North Carolina.”
Thirteen states, including California, Massachusetts and New York, as well as the District of Columbia, have filed similar lawsuits. The central claim in each case is that Juul knew, or should have known, that it was it was hooking teenagers on pods that contained high levels of nicotine.
“This win will go a long way in keeping Juul products out of kids’ hands, keeping its chemical vapor out of their lungs, and keeping its nicotine from poisoning and addicting their brains. I’m incredibly proud of my team for their hard work on behalf of North Carolina families,” Stein said. “We’re not done – we still have to turn the tide on a teen vaping epidemic that was borne of Juul’s greed. As your attorney general, I’ll keep fighting to prevent another generation of young people from becoming addicted to nicotine.”
June 28, 2021
FDA Issues 3 Warning Letters for PMTA Violations
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued three more warning letters for illegal e-liquids. The regulatory agency issued the letters on May 28 and June 3 and posted them to its website on the same days. Companies that received the latest round of letters have a combined 750 products registered with the FDA. The agency has now issued 123 letters to vapor companies for marketing vapor products without having submitted a premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) by Sept. 9, 2020.
Credit: Chris Titze Imaging
North Carolina-based Asheville Vapor received letter on May 28 (50 registered products), while Kansas-based Tiger Vapes (100) and New York-based The Vapor Shop received the letters on Thursday, June 3.
In May, the FDA issued a total of 19 warning letters to firms who manufacture and sell unauthorized e-liquids, advising them that selling products which lack premarket authorization is illegal and therefore they cannot be sold or distributed in the U.S.
While each of these 19 warning letters cites specific products as examples of tobacco products that lack the required premarket authorization, collectively those firms have listed a combined total of more than 378,000 products with the FDA, according to an email from the agency.
Since January 2021, FDA has issued a total of 123 warning letters to firms selling or distributing more than 1,280,000 unauthorized ENDS and that did not submit premarket applications by the Sept. 9 deadline.
The FDA recently released its list of products that are legal for sale in the U.S. A total of 360 companies filed more than 6 million PMTAs. The FDA stressed it has not independently verified the information provided by applicants about the marketing status of their products. In addition, the list excludes entries of products from companies that did not provide information on current marketing status of their products to the FDA so that the agency could determine whether the existence of the application could be disclosed.
The FDA often only lists a few products that a company is selling as illegal in the letter. It then states that there may be more, but it is impossible to know if the warnings encompass all the company’s registered products. The agency states that it is the responsibility of the company to only sell products with a submitted PMTA. Companies have until Sept. 9, 2021 to sell product unless the agency makes a decision on the PMTA approval or grants an extension.
Companies that receive warning letters from the FDA have to submit a written response to the letter within 15 working days from the date of receipt describing the company’s corrective actions, including the dates on which it discontinued the violative sale, and/or distribution of the products. They also require the company’s plan for maintaining compliance with the FD&C Act in the future.
June 4, 2021
College Students Studying Effects of Vaping in Vehicles
A group at East Carolina University is trying to fill in the gaps is trying to fill in some gaps in e-cigarette research.
Credit: Cape Cod Health
The researchers are taking a close look at what happens when people vape inside of their vehicles. Researchers say e-cigarette users told them they like vaping instead of smoking actual cigarettes because it doesn’t make their vehicle smell, according to WNCT.com.
E-cigarette users also don’t worry as much about the effects of second-hand smoke on others in their vehicles. The group is testing that theory with the help of a three-year grant from the National Institute of Health.
“People are now making a choice to vape inside of vehicles, to vape inside their homes and vape around children, so this is something we need to understand more about,” said Dr. Eric K. Soule with the ECU Department of Health Education.
Professors believe the project is a great opportunity for ECU undergraduates to get real-world research experience.
January 25, 2021
North Carolina’s New Hanover County Passes Public Vape Ban
The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Monday to implement an ordinance prohibiting the use of combustible tobacco and e-cigarettes in New Hanover County.
no vaping
The ordinance will go into effect February 1, 2021.
The ordinance approves and ordains the Smoke and Vaping Rule adopted by the New Hanover County Health and Human Services (HHS) Board on October 16, 2020 and includes the prohibition of tobacco and e-cigarettes in county, town and city buildings, vehicles and grounds, as well as in public places in the county like restaurants, bars and entertainment venues, according to an article on wwaytv3.com
“This ordinance aligns the expectations of vaping with traditional cigarette smoking in most public places, and protects residents from unwanted inhalation of second hand smoke and e-cigarette vapors,” Public Health Director Phillip Tarte said. “With no regulation in place for vaping and e-cigarette use, residents are unintentionally exposed to harmful substances in what seems like unlikely places, like a theater or retail store. As we learn more about vaping and associated health risks, it’s important as a community to take action.”
November 17, 2020
North Carolina County Set to Vote on Vape Law Today

Credit: nccourts.gov
In North Carolina, the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners will consider adopting a new rule for vaping products today, Monday, Nov. 16, at their regular meeting which begins at 4 p.m.
After over a year of consideration, the county is prepared to take action on a proposed e-cigarette and smoking ban in “public places.” Scaling back initially proposed requirements, the new rule — should commissioners vote in favor of it — will ban smoking and vaping in all bars, restaurants, and other private and public areas accessible to the general public, according to an article in The Port City Daily.
Violators could be charged a $50 civil penalty, with the option that law enforcement officers first issue a verbal warning. Three-time repeat offenders in charge of managing banned spaces could be fined $200. If it’s an e-cigarette offense, the penalty could be charged as a misdemeanor (the same criminal penalty would not apply to smoking).
An earlier version of the rule was more expansive, and proposed a ban on vaping and smoking on public and private sidewalks accessible to the public. It has since been dropped.
Several North Carolina communities have implemented vaping laws. If approved, it will take effect Jan. 31, 2021, following an implementation period.
November 16, 2020
Judge Denies Request to End Juul Labs Lawsuit

A judge in Durham County, North Carolina’s Superior Court denied an attempt by Juul Labs to have a May 2019 lawsuit closed. The suit was filed by the N.C. Attorney General and targets the e-cigarette maker’s business and marketing practices.
Juul filed motions to end the litigation, limit the damages it could be assessed, or postpone the trial currently set for May. Judge Orlando Hudson denied the motions, according to a story in the Winston-Salem Journal.
North Carolina was the first state to sue Juul over accusations that it targets underage youths with its products. Most specifically, the Attorney General’s office accuses Juul of violating the state’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
October 31, 2020