When two south suburban school districts agreed to be among the thousands of plaintiffs that were named in a lawsuit against many power players in the electronic cigarette industry, they didn’t know if, when or how much money they would receive.
The case against tobacco companies and electronic cigarette sellers revolved around the accusation these companies falsely marketed their products and underplayed the damage the products have on people’s health, leading to people spending more than they would have otherwise had they known the reality of the products’ impact.
Now, a year after this suit’s settlement in addition to other settlements around the country that have forced the electronic cigarette brand Juul Labs Inc. and similar companies to pay out over $1 billion, Oak Lawn High School District 229 is poised to receive around $13,000 while High School District 230 will receive $172,212, according to executives at the respective districts.
“It’s nice to get,” said John Lavelle, the assistant superintendent of District 230, made up of Sandburg, Andrew and Stagg high schools. “It’s nice that they made the effort to pursue this and that it was successful.”
The defendants in the lawsuit include some gas stations and corner stores that sell vape and electronic cigarette products. But perhaps most notably, the suit also named the tobacco giant Altria, the parent company of Juul Labs Inc.
Before 2022, Juul Labs Inc. dominated the electronic cigarette industry. Its market share reached an astounding 75% in 2019, according to Tobacco Reporter. But in recent years, its control has slipped rapidly as it has paid 10 figures in lawsuits and had many of its products banned from shelves. Now, it is the second-leading brand and has one-third the market share it once had, according to the industry focused news site.
“Vaping has been such a major issue in public schools and just in schools in general,” said District 229 Superintendent Shahe Bagdasarian. “We are looking at using that money to make some enhancements in our health and wellness facilities.”
While the Oak Lawn and Orland Park districts both signed on as plaintiffs, they received vastly different sums. The reason for that is threefold.
How much of the $255 million settlement was received by each plaintiff — which included hundreds of school districts around the country — depended on how early on in the process they signed onto the suit, how many students were enrolled in the district and what grades each district teaches, according to Lavelle and District 230′s spokesperson Jennifer Waterman.
“We kind of hit a home run on all three of those,” Lavelle said, noting they got in on the lawsuit early, are one of the biggest districts in Illinois and high school districts were favored financially over elementary or junior high districts.
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Lavelle said the district will receive the money over a period of three years. The district has yet to allocate specifically where all the funds will go. They do, however, intend to use the money to support programs that reduce vaping and help students who are struggling with vape dependency, according to Waterman.
But Lavelle was also clear that beyond the obvious negative effect that vaping has on the health of all people, including high school students, there are also more direct financial burdens.
Spent vape cartridges will often be flushed down the toilet causing plumbing problems, he said. Add onto that the need to pay for vape detection sensors in the bathrooms, camera systems outside of bathrooms and the staff time spent disciplining students caught vaping. Lavelle says the school district appreciates the cash but still worries about the effect vaping has on the classroom.
“I’m sure it doesn’t come close to covering the costs that were incurred over a long period of time and were not done dealing with vaping in schools,” he said. “The damage has kind of been done.”
Other Chicago area schools that signed on to be plaintiffs of this case include Elmhurst Unit District 205 and Evanston Township High School District 202. Thousands of other plaintiffs joined in on this lawsuit including districts from the states of Washington, New York and Ohio.
Other areas of the state have seen windfall gains from going after the vaping industry. Earlier this year, the city of Chicago was awarded more than $23 million in a lawsuit against Juul Labs Inc. Downers Grove High School District 99 accepted six figures in settlement against Juul Labs Inc. Each of the suits surrounded the same allegations that Juul Labs Inc. engaged in false marketing and even added that they market their products to underage consumers.
The city of Chicago confirmed Friday some of the city’s settlement winnings will go to combat vaping in schools, but did not provide specifics.
