Four-figure checks usually don’t appear out of the blue.
But a group of e-cigarette users suddenly has a little extra cash, thanks to a massive class action settlement involving one of America’s tobacco giants.
In online forums and social media this week, users of Juul Labs nicotine products posted screenshots of online deposits worth hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars that they now have access to.
The source of the money is two settlements totaling $300 million that Juul and Altria agreed to over claims that the companies misled consumers about the addictiveness and safety of the products. They were also accused of unlawful marketing to minors. Altria parted ways with Juul last year after acquiring a competing e-cigarette brand.
Altria has denied the allegations, while Juul has admitted no wrongdoing. A court has not yet ruled on whether either company broke any laws.
Juul agreed to a settlement in 2022, but the Altria settlement, which was needed to trigger payouts, wasn’t approved until earlier this year. And just this month, claims for the approximately 842,000 eligible Juul customers began to be verified.
The deadline for filing claims has already passed.
After deducting fees, taxes and contingencies, the eligible claimants were entitled to a total of approximately $202,000,000. An average damage amount was not immediately available; payouts were based in part on the number of receipts a Juul user could present as proof of purchase.
An attorney representing the class of plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Vaping remains embroiled in controversy in the U.S. as e-cigarette companies and federal regulators continue to negotiate over the products’ health effects and marketing barriers. In June, the Food and Drug Administration rescinded an earlier ruling that effectively banned Juul products — but stopped short of greenlighting direct sales pending additional review of new health studies and case law.
CORRECTION (Oct. 23, 2024, 9:52 a.m. ET): An earlier version of this article misstated Altria’s ownership of Juul. It exited its position in the company last year after purchasing a competing e-cigarette brand; it does not own 35% of Juul.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
