Jamestown Public Schools will receive a five-figure payout as part of a now-settled lawsuit that accused a leading tobacco company of fueling a teen vaping epidemic.

Board of education members approved the settlement agreement in the amount of $22,481. The money is from a pool of $168 million to be paid out by the Altria Group, which had been the chief investor in e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc.

In September 2021, Jamestown agreed to join the class action lawsuit. At that time, Dr. Kevin Whitaker, Jamestown schools superintendent, said Juul specifically advertised their products to young children and teens, creating flavors like grapefruit and watermelon so “students would become addicted to their product and then would end up with subsequent health issues.”

“Vaping has been a huge distraction, and it costs quite a bit of money for all sorts of school districts, and this is an attempt as a class to get some of that money returned to us as a result of their direct marketing to kids,” he continued.

It’s not yet clear how much JPS will end up receiving as part of the settlement agreement once fees are taken out.

Whitaker said the district’s share, once received, could go toward student education on drugs, smoking and vaping.

“We will be open to suggestions once that check shows up,” Whitaker said. “Maybe it helps us with vape detectors at the high school and that sort of thing, but we will have to see what happens.”

In April, Juul Labs Inc. announced it would pay $462 million to six states and the District of Columbia for its role in the youth vaping surge.

The Associated Press said the agreement with New York, California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Washington, D.C. was the latest in a string of recent legal agreements Juul had reached to settle lawsuits related to the way it marketed addictive nicotine products. Critics said Juul was trying to lure children too young to smoke, the AP reported.

Like some other settlements reached by Juul, the settlement includes restrictions on the marketing and distribution of the company’s vaping products. For example, the AP reported, it is barred from any direct or indirect marketing that targets youth, which includes anyone under age 35.

Juul also will limit the amount of purchases customers can make in retail stores and online.