The Fayette County Board of Education joined the Bullitt County Board of Education in voting to file a lawsuit against the manufacturers, distributors and retailers of e-cigarettes and other vaping products.
Fayette County voted unanimously Thursday night to file the suit.
“Fayette County Public Schools is recognized as a leader on issues of health, safety, and wellness, not only in the Commonwealth but also across the nation. It is wholly appropriate that we continue to lead in this space,” Fayette County Superintendent Manny Caulk told media outlets.
A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated the preliminary results from its annual National Youth Tobacco Survey showed 27.5 percent of teenagers reported using an e-cigarette in the previous 30 days, up from 20.8 percent in 2018.
“The targeting of school children by these companies, both with their products and marketing campaigns, has led to an unprecedented rise in nicotine addiction among our young people,” Caulk said. “As a champion for children, I was compelled to ask our school board to take this extraordinary step of filing a lawsuit to stop the insidious marketing practices of these companies and demand resources to fight this epidemic.”
Bullitt County Board of Education Attorney Ron Johnson said upon announcing Bullitt County’s lawsuit that e-cig manufacturer Juul has focused its marketing on children through “insidious social media campaigns and influencers” and falsely marketed e-cigarettes as a safe alternative to tobacco.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
