CALHOUN COUNTY, S.C. — On June 30th, the Calhoun School District filed a lawsuit against electronic cigarette company, JUUL and its stakeholders. In the lawsuit, the school district alleges there is a dramatic increase in the use of e-cigarettes amongst their students and other minors.
Carl Solomon, the school district’s attorney in the case, said Calhoun County is one of several school districts suing the company.
"A lot of school districts filed early. Many are now just getting enough information to join the suit," Solomon said. "So, a lot of the school districts in South Carolina, North Carolina, and other states are saying we need to protect our students and this is a way we do it."
Solomon said other districts suing in the Midlands are Orangeburg, Lexington One, and Richland One and Two. He said all the districts have filed separately at different times and the cases are a a multi-district litigation. This means there are separate individual cases but they are all consolidated for discovery.
He said the goal is to get JUUL to change the way they market their product and create them.
"They want to change the behavior of the people who make these JUUL products and other e-cigarettes," Solomon said. "Don’t advertise to children, don’t entice them with flavors that you know that are attractive to people that are too young to smoke. We want to make sure our students are not taken advantage of, and being misled by advertising and being addicted."
One Calhoun County parent said this lawsuit is not the best preventative option.
"We all don’t want teens smoking, using vape or any tobacco products," said Boyd McCloud, Calhoun County Parent. "I don’t think lawsuits are the answer to those type things. I think education is the answer, both in school and parental."
Other Calhoun County residents who aren't parents, like Veronica Williams, said the lawsuit won't stop teens from using the products.
"I just think, as for JUULs and underage kids buying them, it’s just like all the other tobacco products and alcohol products," Williams said. "Sometimes, there is always a crack in between and people can find a way to maneuver and get what they really want, even if they legally aren’t suppose to have it."
In a statement from JUUL, a spokesperson for the company said:
“We will continue to reset the vapor category in the U.S. and seek to earn the trust of society by working cooperatively with attorneys general, legislators, regulators, public health officials, and other stakeholders to combat underage use and transition adult smokers from combustible cigarettes. As part of that process, the company reduced its product portfolio, halted television, print, and digital product advertising and submitted a Premarket Tobacco Product Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration including comprehensive scientific evidence to support the harm reduction potential of its products and data-driven measures to address underage use. Our customer base is the world’s 1 billion adult smokers. We will respond to the allegations through the appropriate legal channels.”