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       Prince George’s County Public Schools will use about $2.3 million from a legal settlement with Juul Labs — the e-cigarette manufacturer — to fight youth vaping and nicotine addiction, according to a memo from the school system.

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       With little discussion, the school board unanimously approved the use of the settlement’s revenue during a meeting Thursday evening. The money will be used to fund training on substance abuse for school counselors, expand the amount of contracted substance-abuse clinicians and achieve other drug-use prevention efforts.

       In the fall of 2022, the school district — which is Maryland’s second-largest — joined multidistrict, nationwide litigation against Juul Labs. In March, the school district was notified of a settlement offer. The $2.3 million award will be implemented for services over a three-year period, starting in September 2023 and ending in December 2026.

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       “Instead of putting their limited money towards valuable educational tools, school boards have had to take on expenses related to vaping prevention, from personnel costs to the installation of vaping detectors in restrooms,” said Phil Federico, an attorney who represented 60 school districts — including Prince George’s County Public Schools — in the litigation. “As Prince George’s County laid out in their recent memo, school boards are able to use these settlement funds for the betterment of their students and their education systems as a whole.”

       E-cigarette firm Juul settles 5,000 lawsuits amid teen vaping concerns

       Juul has been criticized for marketing to minors, causing an increase in youth vaping and misrepresenting its products as a safe alternative to conventional cigarettes. Little is known about the long-term health consequences of using e-cigarettes, but they have been linked to nicotine addiction, lung damage, asthma and mental health problems.

       Data released earlier this year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the percentage of high school students who used electronic vapor products did not change from 2015 to 2021. In 2021, 18 percent of high school students used an electronic vapor product during the past 30 days, according to the data. Female students were more likely than male students to use such products.

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       Juul Labs did not respond to a request for comment.

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       A $235 million settlement was also reached with Altria Group, which previously had a 35 percent stake in the company. That settlement was announced in May and now requires court approval, Federico said. The Prince George’s school system is expected to receive additional money from that settlement.

       Other area school districts, such as Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia and Anne Arundel County Public Schools in Maryland, were part of the litigation.

       School systems sue Juul, saying e-cigarette firm spurred vaping epidemic in students

       The Fairfax school system, which is Virginia’s largest, announced this week that it reached a settlement with Altria, according to a news release from the school district. The district’s board of education did not say how much money it received. The settlement money will be used to support student wellness programs, and school board leaders said they would share more specifics at a later date.

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       Juul agreed in September to pay $438.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by 33 states and Puerto Rico related to the company’s marketing to teens. In April, D.C. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb (D) announced that the city would receive more than $15 million as part of a settlement over allegations that the company deceptively marketed its products toward teenagers while playing down their addictive properties.

       Karina Elwood contributed to this report.

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