Glossary
JUUL Pods
Prefilled nicotine cartridges used in JUUL e-cigarettes. Claims that JUUL misled buyers about the pods' nicotine content and targeted teens led to a consumer class settlement of just over $300 million.
JUUL pods are small, prefilled cartridges of nicotine e-liquid that snap into a JUUL device. JUUL's flavored pods became closely associated with the rise in teen vaping in the late 2010s.
The pods were central to the litigation against JUUL Labs and Altria, which owned 35% of JUUL. Plaintiffs claimed JUUL misled the public about the addictiveness and risks of its products, including by suggesting a pod contained about the same amount of nicotine as a pack of cigarettes when, they alleged, the pods contained significantly more. They also alleged JUUL targeted teenagers with candy-like flavors and social media campaigns. The cases were handled in federal court in San Francisco by U.S. District Judge William Orrick.
In March 2024, Judge Orrick gave final approval to Altria's $45.5 million settlement with the consumer class, which, combined with JUUL Labs' $255 million settlement, brought the consumer class recovery to just over $300 million. JUUL also paid hundreds of millions of dollars in separate settlements with groups of states over its marketing.
The consumer settlement covered people who bought JUUL products in the past, and it was paid through the official settlement website, not through any law firm. Anyone who believes they were owed money should check that official site. See our term pages on e-cigarettes and nicotine poisoning, and our guides on settlement checks that have not arrived and open versus closed settlements.
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