Press Release Details
SFUSD Joins Bay Area School Districts in Suing Juul
San Francisco (December 17, 2019) - The San Francisco Unified School District is among school districts in the Bay Area that have filed litigation in San Francisco’s federal district court against Juul Labs, Inc. for its targeting of minors.
These school districts are joining other school districts across the country, as well as a number of parents and youth, to challenge Juul’s practices of marketing vaping products to minors.
The lawsuits seek damages for marketing efforts that specifically targeted youth under the age of 18 with advertising and messaging designed to appeal to minors. The districts also hope to change Juul’s marketing practices that encourage youth to become addicted to their products.
As of December 17, San Francisco Unified School District, Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District, three school districts in San Mateo County (Cabrillo Unified School District, San Mateo-Foster City School District and Jefferson Union High School District) and the San Mateo County Office of Education and Superintendent of Schools Nancy Magee had filed litigation.
The United States District Court for the Northern District of California will handle these cases, in addition to the array of other litigation filed by school districts, parents and students across the country.
“It’s very important for us to help teach students about the dangers of using Juuls, but Juul has continued to relentlessly target their product to minors, undermining our efforts to teach children how to live healthy lives,” said Dr. Vincent Matthews, SFUSD Superintendent of Schools.
“Students miss out on valuable instructional time when they leave class to vape or are late to class because they were vaping,” said SF Board of Education President Stevon Cook. “As a school district, we’ve had to devote significant time and resources to address the use of e-cigarettes among students.”
SFUSD has a number of health initiatives to combat the use of e-cigarettes and other tobacco products. Annual trainings support SFUSD staff to learn about the curriculum and resources to support tobacco prevention education, and Health Education is a required course for graduation from high school.
Youth Outreach Worker (YOW) students at middle grade and high schools are trained to provide classroom Peer Education and also conduct Anti Vaping and tobacco awareness. School District Nurses are trained in tobacco and E cig awareness and cessation.
The lawsuits have been filed by the Renne Public Law Group (RPLG), a boutique public interest law firm co-founded by Louise Renne. RPLG joins a coalition of other law firms to challenge Juul and big tobacco.
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Page updated on 12/19/19