Deadline to Join Vaping Class-Action Lawsuit Approaches

HATTIESBURG, MISS (October 21, 2022) School districts across the United States still have a chance to partner with Schools Against Vaping in a class action lawsuit against major e-cigarette manufacturer, JUUL. Schools Against Vaping is a national campaign aimed at providing vaping research and education to America’s schools in addition to educating the public about the legal challenge to JUUL. If successful, this legal action would force the industry leader to help fund cessation programs and educational support for students in school districts that elect to participate in the class action lawsuit. The deadline to sign up is November 17, 2022. 

“Major strides have already been made through these endeavors. The first settlement of $438 million was distributed to states while the next sum will go directly to school districts. We know that nicotine, in any form, is incredibly unhealthy and highly addictive. These funds will allow educators and administrators to provide healthy-choice curricula support as well as help rehabilitate teenagers who are struggling with addiction. This student body help is for public, private and parochial schools,” said SAV National Executive Director Michael Marks.  

Before turning his attention to SAV, Marks enjoyed a long career as an educator and, as Mississippi Teacher of the Year, was a part of then Attorney General Mike Moore’s Tobacco Task Force in 1988 when he engineered the national tobacco settlement for the country. “This is Joe Camel with a different hump but the end result is the same. Vaping is very bad for the student body,” says the National Executive Director of Schools Against Vaping.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, there are still some unknowns when it comes to vaping, and scientists are still researching and learning more. However, there is evidence to support possible lung damage caused by ingredients in e-cigarette aerosol. A 2020 study released by Stanford University says that teenagers who vape are five times more likely to contract Covid-19. If they have vaped in last 30 days, they will be seven times more likely.  

In addition to its highly addictive nature, nicotine can also have a negative effect on adolescent brain development and harm the parts of the brain used to control attention, learning, mood, and impulse control. 

More information on how school districts can join the fight against the teenage vaping epidemic is available online at SchoolsAgainstVaping.org.