JUUL and Vaping Lawsuits
Vaping and e-cigarettes burst upon the scene several years ago with too little research and consideration of the potential dangers of using these devices. Some proved defective in their construction, with battery fires resulting. Other dangers are posed by the very chemicals that the devices are intended to deliver to their users. As a result, lawsuits against JUUL are moving forward and against other makers of these devices. JUUL, however, is the largest producer of these devices, and therefore the primary target of litigation. Some of the litigation is targeted at defects in products that do not function as intended. Other litigation focuses on products that function exactly as intended – addicting adults and children to nicotine.
Litigation Against JUUL
Lawsuits against JUUL are moving forward in several different venues, including a major multi-district litigation (MDL) class action litigation in federal court in the Northern District of California. The representative plaintiffs for this action have been selected, the discovery process is currently ongoing, and the trial is currently set for early 2022.
Other litigation has been underway in state courts, for example, a lawsuit in North Carolina alleging that JUUL and several vaping liquid manufacturers purposefully produced and distributed flavored vaping products directly aimed at children and teenagers. This suit and others focus on the impact to high schools, middle schools, and their students from vaping. Other litigation related to the flavored liquids results from instances of poisoning in young children from drinking the attractively flavored and scented liquid — potentially lethal poisonings.
More Impacts Become Apparent During Covid
Many of the negative impacts of vaping upon middle and high school students have become more apparent and more serious over the last year with the move to remote learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. The disease has had a significant impact upon everyone’s daily lives, especially school-age children who have had to spend nearly all their time at home on remote learning.
For many of those adolescents and teens who were already nicotine-addicted due to JUUL and other vaping products, this has more clearly revealed their addictions to themselves and to the homebound parents with whom they have been compelled to spend so much more time — making it much harder to hide their addiction. For others, the school and business lockdowns have made it much more difficult to obtain nicotine products, resulting in severe withdrawal symptoms.
In addition to the already present risks of addiction and withdrawal, it has become apparent that using these devices places smokers and vapers at much higher risk of developing severe Covid-19 symptoms — up to seven times more likely than non-smokers and non-vapers. This risk even landed users in a higher category of vaccine access — similar to other people with high-Covid-risk diseases and pre-existing conditions.
So Hard to Quit
Even with the spread of nicotine addiction in middle and high school children becoming more apparent to families and to the teens themselves during Covid, it has remained challenging for them to quit using these products.
The addictive nature of nicotine in adults has long been recognized in smokers. However, the easier access for children to nicotine in vaping products has made it apparent that the drug is even more addictive for them. Yale neuroscientists note that the chemical signaling system in the brain that produces rewards and addictive effects is even more significantly impacted in younger brains before their developmental maturation at about age 25. So, however addictive a drug may be for an adult, it is even more so for a teenager.
Lawsuits against JUUL are moving forward even as teens and their families and schools continue to struggle against the impacts of nicotine addiction.
Learn more about the dangers of vaping in this video:
Sacramento Products Liability Lawyer
Hello, my name is Ed Smith, and I’ve been a Sacramento products liability lawyer for nearly four decades now. When a defective product like a JUUL e-cigarette or other vaping device causes an injury, you may be able to place a claim for financial compensation. For free and friendly advice, reach out to us at (916) 921-6400 or (800) 404-5400 and speak with one of our experienced injury attorneys. We also have an online contact form if you prefer to reach us that way.
I belong to many professional associations and groups, including the National Association of Distinguished Counsel and the Million Dollar Forum. You can also learn more about some of our case results and read client reviews by visiting:
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