Activism
School District to Receive Anti-Vaping Resources Following Global Juul Settlement
SFUSD, alongside 5,000 other school districts, government entities, Native American tribes and consumers, took part in a multi-year lawsuit in a Northern California court case that alleged flavored nicotine products made by Juul contributed to an epidemic of underaged nicotine addiction. “San Francisco public schools are champions of tobacco prevention and education, and we are very pleased with the outcome of this litigation,” SFUSD Superintendent Matt Wayne said in a statement. “This settlement represents a very positive outcome that will amplify the efforts of our health education staff and benefit SFUSD’s students by helping to reduce and deter youth nicotine use.”
By Olivia Wynkoop
Bay City News Foundation
The San Francisco Unified School District is receiving more resources to prevent youth nicotine use as one of the thousands of plaintiffs that vaping company Juul Labs settled with on Tuesday.
SFUSD, alongside 5,000 other school districts, government entities, Native American tribes and consumers, took part in a multi-year lawsuit in a Northern California court case that alleged flavored nicotine products made by Juul contributed to an epidemic of underaged nicotine addiction.
“San Francisco public schools are champions of tobacco prevention and education, and we are very pleased with the outcome of this litigation,” SFUSD Superintendent Matt Wayne said in a statement. “This settlement represents a very positive outcome that will amplify the efforts of our health education staff and benefit SFUSD’s students by helping to reduce and deter youth nicotine use.”
Settlement awards will be allocated to SFUSD and other local school districts to support vaping prevention initiatives like staff trainings, tobacco consumption curriculum in health education classes and peer-led awareness campaigns.
“The settlement will make a significant difference in the public health fight against youth e-cigarette use, and will further advance SFUSD’s established health education work by providing meaningful resources to support prevention efforts and education around youth e-cigarette use,” San Francisco Board of Education president Jenny Lam said in a press release.
Earlier this year, the vaping company reached a $438.5 million settlement with 37 states and territories for their early marketing and production of sweet-flavored nicotine products targeted toward young people.
In a company news release, Juul Labs said these settlements represent another step forward in securing its mission to transition adult smokers away from cigarettes and its opposition against underage use.
Juul said it could not disclose the amount of Tuesday’s settlement at this time.
“With both new investments in the company’s mission and a resolution like the one achieved today, Juul Labs is charting a path forward to continue to advance tobacco harm reduction through science and technology, for over 31 million adult smokers in the U.S. and over 1 billion adult smokers worldwide,” the company said in a news release.
The recent settlement does not resolve the state and federal lawsuits against Altria Group Inc. or other large stakeholders of Juul, which the school district said it is committed to pursuing.
