Top Takeaways:

• Alaska secured one of the highest per-capita vaping settlements in the U.S. with $5.8 million from Juul.
• Youth-targeted marketing claims and USB-style device design were core to the lawsuit.
• Half of the funds will go directly to tobacco prevention and youth protection programs.

The State of Alaska has reached a $5.8 million settlement with Juul Labs, ending a five-year lawsuit that accused the e-cigarette company of targeting young Alaskans through youth-oriented marketing, state officials announced Friday.

The agreement settles claims first filed in November 2020, alleging Juul promoted its nicotine products with tactics that appealed to minors, including a vaping device designed to look like a USB flash drive and viral social-media marketing. The lawsuit also claimed that Altria Group — which previously owned a financial stake in Juul Labs— provided marketing expertise and funding to support those efforts.

The settlement follows a separate $2 million agreement reached last year with Altria, bringing Alaska’s total recovery from vaping-related lawsuits to $7.8 million. State officials said Alaska’s per-capita recovery ranks among the highest in the country.

“This case took five years and a great deal of work from our public health and consumer protection teams, but it was worth it,” Stephen Cox said in a statement. “We now have strong court-enforceable limits on how these companies can operate in Alaska, and we’ve obtained a per-capita recovery that ranks near the top nationally, with those dollars going straight into prevention and consumer protection.”

State officials said teachers, school administrators, and students testified during the case that youth vaping had significantly impacted adolescent health and behavior. The Alaska Department of Health has been working for nearly a decade to address these impacts through tobacco prevention programs, according to the state.

“Alaska’s families need more education and options for real treatment and support, in addition to increased prevention and outreach to reverse this trend,” said Heidi Hedberg.

Under the terms of the agreement, Juul Labs will make payments to the state over five years, with the first payment due this month. Half of the settlement funds must be allocated to tobacco prevention and control programs, while the remaining half will support consumer protection enforcement, according to the Alaska Department of Law.