Juul to pay Chicago $23.8m settlement for marketing its products to underage users

CHICAGO, March 12, (AP): Vaping company Juul Labs will pay Chicago $23.8 million to settle a lawsuit alleging the company marketed products to underage users, the city announced Friday.

The Chicago Department of Public Health will use the money for youth prevention and reduction programs, education and outreach, according to a city press release.

The settlement is the latest payout from the embattled e-cigarette giant, which laid off hundreds of workers and settled thousands of lawsuits brought by families of Juul users, school districts, city governments and Native American tribes last year.

“JUUL appealed to youth with their colorful, playful media and social media marketing and used high nicotine contents to fuel ongoing use,” a city press release said.

The company agreed to pay $2.8 million within 30 days and the rest later this year, the statement said.

Businesses

“E-cigarette businesses cannot be allowed to come in our city and boost their profits at the expense of minors. The use of any tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, among youth is a serious public health concern - to CDPH and parents across Chicago,” said CDPH Commissioner Allison Arwady, who is quoted in the release.

A Juul spokesman called the resolution “another step in our ongoing commitment to resolve issues from the past, place our company on a path forward, and fulfill our mission to transition adult smokers away from combustible cigarettes while combating underage use of our products,” referring to traditional smoking products such as cigarettes, cigarillos and cigars.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last June ordered Juul to stop marketing and distributing its products in the United States to protect public health, another potential blow to the company straining to stay in business.

However, the FDA later placed a temporary hold on its decision following a legal challenge from Juul. The FDA is now conducting an additional review of the company’s products.

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LONDON: Thousands of protesters marched through London to the British prime minister’s residence on Saturday to support health care workers who have held a series of strikes over pay and conditions in the state-funded National Health Service.

Almost 40,000 junior doctors, who

form the backbone of hospital care, are due to walk out across England for three days starting Monday.

NHS England said the doctors’ strike would be even more disruptive than recent walkouts by nurses and ambulance staff.

The NHS said it would “prioritize resources to protect emergency and critical care, maternity care and where possible prioritize patients who have waited the longest for elective care and cancer surgery,” but thousands of appointments and procedures will be canceled during the 72-hour strike.

Medical camp on March 17 in Khaitan

A wave of strikes has disrupted Britons’ lives for months, as workers demand pay raises to keep pace with double-digit inflation. As well as health care workers, teachers, train drivers, airport baggage handlers, border staff, driving examiners, bus drivers and postal workers have all walked off their jobs to demand higher pay.

Unions say wages, especially in the public sector, have fallen in real terms over the past decade, and a cost-ofliving crisis fueled by sharply rising food and energy prices has left many struggling to pay their bills.