Tobacco Prevention and Control: JUUL Settlement

The settlement outlines various requirements including:

• Making payments to Wisconsin to fund prevention and cessation (quit) efforts related to electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), or e-cigarettes (vapes), for people up to age 24.
• Restricting some advertising, marketing, and sales practices by JUUL Labs.
• Maintaining a retail-compliance program to verify tobacco retailers’ compliance with measures meant to limit underage access to JUUL products.

Learn more about the settlement in the Wisconsin JUUL Settlement fact sheet, P-03445 (PDF).

The Wisconsin Tobacco Prevention and Control Program (TPCP) has developed a multiyear action plan to address the rise in vaping and e-cigarette by youth and young adults using the JUUL Settlement funds

1. TPCP held a series of virtual, public listening sessions and opened an online survey to all Wisconsinites. From these input sessions, the top three areas recommended for funding were prevention, school-based efforts, and cessation, including:
   • Integrating prevention programs and other strategies in schools.
   • Relying on local communities to address community-specific needs.
   • Expanding relevant and effective messaging campaigns about youth vaping prevention and cessation.
   • Researching and providing effective and accessible cessation and/or treatment for youth and young adults.
   • Increasing staff and resources for schools to address vaping and mental health needs
2. Wisconsin DHS launched the Vaping Prevention and Treatment Initiatives (VPTI) grant program. Thirteen community-based organizations and agencies across Wisconsin were awarded a total of $830,000 to implement vaping prevention, intervention, and/or treatment initiatives for youth and young adults up to age 24.
3. TPCP will engage and collaborate with community-based grantees and state partners to address community-specific needs.
4. TPCP and VPTI grantees will track, evaluate, and optimize the investment of JUUL Settlement funds.

Learn about the results of the listening sessions and surveys in the fact sheet called You Spoke, We Listened: JUUL Settlement in Wisconsin, Listening Sessions, P-03445a (PDF).

Wisconsin received the first annual JUUL Settlement payment in December 2022. Funding was used to support efforts in 2023, including:

Public awareness

• Behind the Haze, a teen vaping prevention campaign
• Tobacco 21, an education and outreach campaign

Grant awards

Wisconsin DHS awarded grants totaling $621,000 to 19 TPCP partners across the state to implement community interventions for young people up to age 24. Below are several success stories from Wisconsin communities.

Community initiatives

• The Dane County Alliance Against Commercial Tobacco partnered with University of Wisconsin Health Services (UHS) to communicate about vaping on the University of Wisconsin Madison campus. UHS put a display on Bascom Hill during the Great American Smokeout, a day to encourage people to stop smoking. They also displayed messages from the No Nicotine November Campaign to encourage students to consider what they may gain from quitting nicotine. UHS distributed over 300 kits with cessation resources at events during November. UHS plans to continue the No Nicotine November campaign next year and is currently using focus groups to make it stronger.
• The Northwest Wisconsin Lung Health Alliance, serving Ashland, Bayfield, Douglas, Iron, Sawyer, and Washburn Counties, engaged youth in planning and holding a Youth Wellness Leadership Summit to talk about youth mental health and wellness to prevent future vaping. Youth provided input on what topics they wanted to hear at the summit and led “flash round” presentations, where young people gave short presentations to small groups of attendees. Evaluations of the event showed that youth gained an understanding of skills to cope with stress, ways to support other young people with mental health challenges, and how to talk about their own mental health with others.
• The Eau Claire County Alliance for Substance Misuse Prevention implemented a county-wide educational campaign that shared prevention messages and quit resources about youth vaping. Young people provided input on the campaign, including messages about mental health and the environmental effects of disposable vaping products. The campaign tactics included social media posts and posters and window clings at places where youth spend time. "How to Quit Vaping" workbooks were also distributed. The alliance attributes the success of the campaign to the active involvement of young people in developing the messages and look of the resources.

Youth and young adult programs

• Seven Freedom from Smoking (FFS) scholarships were awarded to universities and community organizations focused on providing cessation services to young adults. FFS is a program focused on serving 18-23 year-olds.
• N-O-T (Not On Tobacco) training and implementation scholarships were awarded to increase the number of adults trained to help young people address their nicotine addiction. They also advertised the online version of the program to areas in the state with no trained facilitators. 
• Eleven schools were funded to implement the INDEPTH program, which is an alternative-to-suspension program. ALA was also able to support the development of the INDEPTH Online program, which launched in 2024, curriculum updates, and recertification webinars for facilitators.
• FACT launched REACH OUT, a campaign focused on educating young people on the negative impacts nicotine has on mental health and encouraging them to reach out for help to quit nicotine use or to get mental health support.

Research

The University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention (UW-CTRI) completed large-sample surveys of young adults who vape and teens who vape. The objective was to learn about their experiences, thoughts, and feelings about vaping, including their interest in quitting.

• Practices and Beliefs of Young Adults (ages 18-24) in Wisconsin who Vape/Use E-cigarettes. November 2023 (PDF)
• Experiences, Attitudes, and Beliefs about Vaping/E-cigarettes of Youth Ages 13-17 in Wisconsin. April 2024 (PDF)

TPCP assisted the Department of Public Instruction to host focus groups with teachers and student services staff to learn how to better respond to school district needs as regards student vaping.

Wisconsin received the second annual JUUL Settlement payment in December 2023. Funding will support:

Public awareness

• Behind the Haze, a teen vaping prevention campaign.
• Tobacco is Changing, an education and awareness campaign for parents and other trusted adults.

Grant awards

The American Lung Association will expand program services to address youth and young adult nicotine use. The programs include:

• N-O-T, a cessation program
• INDEPTH, an alternative to suspension program
• Freedom from Smoking, a program focused on 18-23 year-olds
• FACT, a teen to teen prevention program.

Wisconsin DHS launched the Vaping Prevention and Treatment Initiatives (VPTI) grant program. Thirteen community-based organizations and agencies across Wisconsin were awarded a total of $830,000 to implement vaping prevention, intervention, and/or treatment initiatives for youth and young adults up to age 24.

Research

The University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention (UW-CTRI) will conduct research to better understand how to increase motivation among youth and young adults (age 13-24) to quit vaping.