Perhaps the most important provision in the settlement between the State of North Carolina and Juul involved the release of previously secret internal Juul documents. These documents are particularly timely given the fact that Juul and the FDA are now fighting over FDA’s decision not to authorize the same of Juul e-cigarettes as well as the ongoing state and local debates over flavor bans.
The agreement (paragraph 35b) said the documents would be made available within a year:
Within twelve (12) months of the Effective Date [June 28, 2021), JLI shall identify every document it seeks to redact or withhold and identify the category that forms the basis for redaction or withholding .JLI shall identify the first set of documents within three (3) months of the Effective Date, and continue to identify the remaining documents on the rolling basis through the end of the twelve (12) month period.
But none of these documents have been made public through a public depository.
While it may be that North Carolina and Juul are fighting over redactions in specific documents (discussed later in the agreement), it’s hard to believe that none of the documents could be released by now.
What’s going on?
Stanton Glantz blog 