1/Epic twitter thread on the JUUL settlement b/c, after years of looking at MSA funding & seeing these AGs all excited to get moneys from a #THR product. I'm pissed. So let's settle in for a wild ride that'll probably end up an op-ed.
2/So, ICYMI, JUUL reached a settlement w/32 states (and 1 territory) regarding it's role in the so-called "youth vaping epidemic."
3/In June 2021, North Carolina was the first state to reach a settlement w/JUUL. Getting $40M over several years.
ncdoj.gov/attorney-gener…
4/In November 2021, the Arizona AG reached a $14.5M settlement w/JUUL
azag.gov/press-release/…
5/In April 2022, Washington reached a $12.5M deal.
atg.wa.gov/news/news-rele…
6/And yesterday's deal was $438.5 million to 33 states and territories.
7/Some states - like MN (which, if you don't recall has it's own tobacco settlement agreement outside of the MSA), is taking JUUL to court in 2023.
kstp.com/kstp-news/loca…
8/But back to the state settlements, let's unpack these. We'll start with North Carolina - home of tobacco subsidies. farm.ewg.org/progdetail.php….
9/North Carolina is due to receive $40 million over six years...
10/Which, is a helluva lot more than what the state has used in existing combustible cigarette moneys on programs to help people quit smoking and/or prevent youth use.
11/$40M from JUUL over the next 6 years is actually nearly $30M more than what North Carolina spent on tobacco control between 2015 and 2020...
12/Note how we're concerned about children...
13/Let's do those numbers... (still waiting on 2021 @CDC_DASH)
14/But my favorite numbers are the epic lows in smoking rates - even in North Carolina - home of tobacco. And look - since JUUL's market emergence in 2016, smoking rates among 18-24 YO decreased by over 50%
15/Moving onto to Arizona. They do a little bit better on funding tobacco control programs. And the JUUL money they're getting is less than what they spend in a year on those programs...
16/Yet, still driving on this whole youth vaping epidemic.
17/Here's Maricopa County data. (I'll have the whole state eventually)
18/But again, disregading the fact that since JUUL entered the Arizona market place, current smoking rates among young adults have declined by nearly one-fourth.
19/Next up, Washington State - which, I have been arguing about lack of TC funding since 2018 as it's horribly lacking.
20/Seriously, the $22.5M JUUL is to pay to the state is $12.7M more than the $9.8M the state spent on tobacco control programs b/w 2015 and 2020.
21/And again, the introduction of JUUL has not led to an increase in smoking among young adults, but rather, a 57.9% decline in the years after.
22/Now onto yesterday's bunch. Some are missing as I don't have press releases to find out how much $$$ their state is expected to receive.
23/Arkansas is expected to recieve $13.5M
arkansasag.gov/news_releases/…
24/That's only about $2M more than what the state spent in 2020 on tobacco control programs.
25/But again, all about kiddies and misinformation....
26/Again, waiting on 2021 data, but youth vaping rates in 2019 were still lower than youth smoking rates in 1995...
27/And further, since the big bad JUUL came, young adult smoking rates have decreased by nearly 40%
28/Moving on to Connecticut, which, with Oregon and Texas, led this settlement.
portal.ct.gov/AG/Press-Relea…
29/Connecticut's $16.2M is much needed as it's nearly 3.5X more than what the state spent on tobacco control funding between 2015 and 2020.
30/Again, with the youth vaping...
31/And notably, the reduction in smoking rates among young adults after the introduction of JUUL.
32/Back at it (FYI, this is gonna take some time as it's too maddening to actually take several hours to complete this).
33/Next up is Delaware.
news.delaware.gov/2022/09/06/ag-…
34/$7.8M at least from JUUL. More about nicotine...
35/The First State does a decent job funding tobacco control... I guess. $7.8M is a tad bit more than what the state spent in 2020, but a lot less than the past six years of funding.
36/But, then again, a pack of cigarettes is more than what the state allocates to tobacco control programs for every $100 it is already receiving from the sale of deadly combustible cigarettes.
37/Let's talk about that (and vaping)
In 2019, only 13.6% of DE HS students were current vapers. Far below the average for that year and I'm sure the # is lower for 2021.
But check out declines in combustible cigarette use...
38/Again, since the market emergence of vaping products (and JUUL), young adult smoking rates have significantly declined. A greater percentage of old folks are smoking in the state than young adults...
39/This all has me wondering how they determined how much $$$ each state got. Like, ND is getting the lowest of the amounts (that have been posted) but had the 2nd highest HS current vaping rates in 2019 of this set of states.
40/And we're back. Onto the Peach State....
law.georgia.gov/press-releases…
41/Again, another state that spends a pitiful amount of cigarette moneys on tobacco control...
42/And the $19M is $11M more than what Georgia spent b/w 2015 & 2020 on tobacco control programs...
43/Again, "Underage vaping has reached epidemic proportions..."
Yet, what did we do when youth combustible cigarette use was at higher rates than youth vaping?
44/And again, the emergence of JUUL (and other vaping products) correlates with a significant decline in smoking rates among young adults in Georgia...
45/It's nice having the numbers. Seven states are to receive more $$$ over the next six years than what their state spent on tobacco control programs.
46/Looking at you @WilliamTongCT
Seeing that over six years the state spent only $1.2M on tobacco control programs....
47/Now onto Hawaii. I'm surprised they settled seeing the Aloha State has been trying to ban flavored vapes for a few years now.
ag.hawaii.gov/wp-content/upl…
48/But still, they spend very little each year on youth vaping prevention...
49/Now, in 2019, HI did have one of the highest state vaping rates (at least data from @CDC_DASH shows - btw, when can we get the 2021 results?)
But! Youth smoking is at epic lows.
50/And like all the others, the introduction of JUUL - and the growth of vaping in general - correlates w/significant declines in smoking rates among young adults...
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.