More than $7.4M from JUUL settlement going to Finger Lakes region to fight underage vaping
Attorney General Letitia James delivers over $7.4 million to the Finger Lakes region that her office secured in a settlement with JUUL to combat youth vaping. (Photo provided by NYS Attorney General's Office)
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced more than $7.4 million for the Finger Lakes region, to be distributed to counties, cities and BOCES units to fight underage vaping.
The money comes from a $462 million multistate settlement secured from JUUL Labs Inc. New York State will receive a total of $112.7 million.
Locally, the funds will be distributed as follows:
Counties
Genesee County, $366,507.72
Livingston County, $345,540.78
Monroe County, 42,293,677.54
Ontario County, $530,263.71
Orleans County, $275,118.86
Seneca County, $236,510.67
Wayne County, $481,411.55
Yates County, $225,004.21
School districts and BOCES units
Rochester City School District, $412,822.79
Genesee Valley BOCES, $330,959.99
Monroe 1 BOCES, $693,247.82
Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES, $492,990.85
Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES, $551,361.10.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, e-cigarette use among New York high school students skyrocketed after JUUL launched in 2015, leading to “a national outbreak of severe vaping-related illnesses, with more than 2,500 hospitalizations.” In 2019, James sued JUUL for what she called “deceptive and misleading marketing that glamorized vaping and targeted young people.”
Counties and BOCES units must use the funds for public education programs to prevent e-cigarette use among young people; community, school and university-based anti-vaping programs; vaping cessation services; enforcement of vaping laws and regulations; and public health research into e-cigarette use among young people and the effectiveness of anti-vaping programs.