Orleans approved for $275K in NY settlement with Juul

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 July 2024 at 11:18 am

County also approves how it will spend $238K from opioid lawsuit

ALBION – Orleans County has been approved for $275,119 as part of a $462 million multistate settlement secured by Attorney General Letitia James from JUUL Labs Inc. for its role in the youth vaping epidemic that led to a dangerous rise in underage e-cigarette use nationwide, James said.

The Orleans County Legislature last week voted to accept its allotted money from the settlement. The funding must be spent on the approved uses as provided by the NYS

Attorney General’s Office, such as prevent youth and young adults from initiating vaping, support community, school, college and university-based anti-vaping programs, to help people quit vaping, enforce vaping laws and regulations, as well as research and surveillance, according to a county resolution.

The Orleans-Niagara BOCES also will receive $507,353 in the settlement. The Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES will receive $492,991.

Other nearby counties were approved for the following: Niagara County, $1,062,901; Genesee County, $366,508; Livingston County, $345,541; Monroe County, $2,293,678.

“JUUL preyed on young people across our state by putting addictive products into their hands and convincing them that they were harmless,” Attorney General James said in a statement last month, announcing the settlement funds. “Their actions put a generation of children at risk, fueling physical and mental health problems among young New Yorkers.”

The County Legislature last week also approved how it will spend $238,008 from distributors of multiple pharmaceutical companies that were sued for allegedly helping to fuel the opioid epidemic.

The settlement funds need to used for treatment programs, prevention, and other

strategies that may be categorized as restricted or unrestricted use, according to a County Legislature resolution.

The county approved spending the funds in the following areas:

$10,000 for Medical Examiners Fees for Service
$38,028 for equipment for Sheriff’s Office
$38,028 for equipment for Probation Department
$39,657 for special grants for County Jail
$64,295 for equipment for Major Felony Crime Task Force
$48,000 for Public Health Lab Testing