Bullitt County schools to sue Juul, alleging it created e-cigarette epidemic that has cost schools money and instructional time

Bullitt Central High School Principal Joe Pat Lee watches students arrive on opening day. (BCPS photo)

The Bullitt County school board voted Nov. 25 to sue Juul Labs and other manufacturers of electronic cigarettes, as well as distributors and retailers.

"Bullitt County Public Schools, like every other school district in the country, has witnessed a dramatic increase in the use of vaping products by its students," the board's resolution said. "The targeting of school children by these companies in their marketing campaigns has resulted in an epidemic of nicotine addiction in children."

Juul Labs is the leading maker of e-cigarettes and has used research by traditional cigarette companies to make its devices the most popular and, critics say, the most addictive.

School Supt. Jesse Bacon said in a news release, “In recent years, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of infractions that involve vaping in our middle and high schools. The amount of resources being used and the instructional time that is lost as a result of this issue is alarming, to say the least.”

Ron Johnson, the attorney hired to file the lawsuit, said it would be the first such suit by a Kentucky school district. "This year in Kentucky, there have been four lawsuits filed against Juul and more than 100 around the country," Sarah Ladd reports for the Louisville Courier Journal.