The San Diego Unified School District is suing e-cigarette company JUUL.
The lawsuit claims its product “disrupts the education and learning environment across the district.” The lawsuit follows similar suits filed by school districts in Los Angeles, Glendale, Compton and Anaheim.
The district is seeking an injunction and abatement to “stop the e-cigarette epidemic” which the district claims severely impacted normal school operations.
The lawsuit also seeks compensation for losses as a result of students being absent as well as outreach and education programs. Recently-released reports found that 3.6 million middle and high school students used e-cigarettes in 2018
“Our district is in the business of educating students in a healthy and safe environment, said San Diego Unified Superintendent Cindy Marten. “This lawsuit supports district goals by holding JUUL accountable for its harmful marketing practices and unsafe products.”.
JUUL sent reporting partner 10News the following statement:
"We remain focused on resetting the vapor category in the U.S. and earning the trust of society by working cooperatively with attorneys general, regulators, public health officials, and other stakeholders to combat underage use and convert adult smokers from combustible cigarettes. As part of that process, we recentlystopped [newsroom.juul.com]accepting orders for our Mint JUULpods in the U.S., suspended all broadcast, print, and digital product advertising in the U.S., are investing in scientific research to ensure the quality of our FDA Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) application and expanding our commitment to develop new technology to reduce youth use. Our customer base is the world’s 1 billion adult smokers and we do not intend to attract underage users.To the extent these cases allege otherwise, they are without merit."
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