East China School Board votes to join lawsuit against vaping manufacturers

The East China School Board voted Monday to join a lawsuit against vape manufactures.

Superintendent Suzanne Cybulla gave a recommendation to the board to join a lawsuit against the vape companies Juul Labs, Altria and other vaping manufacturers.

“Our emphasis will be on educating our students about the negative affects of vaping,” Cybulla said.

The lawsuit, which began in 2019 in California, alleges that the vaping companies intentionally marketed its products to children. Frantz Law Group, representing the California school districts, requested Thrun Law Firm to facilitate contact with Michigan schools to join the lawsuit.

Cybulla said it would not cost the district anything to join the lawsuit. Instead, school districts that join the lawsuit would be compensated to mitigate vaping issues within schools.

Cybulla said she wasn’t sure exactly how much, but East China could receive at least $30,000.

“We have been experiencing a lot of behaviors in our students around vaping,” Cybulla said. “We want to educate and help our kids understand the severity vaping has on their health.”

The money won from the lawsuit would be put towards improving the current vape mitigation efforts within East China Schools. Current methods include vape detectors at St. Clair and Marine City high schools and requiring students who get caught vaping to take an online vape education course.

Contact McKenna Golat at mgolat@gannett.com or (810) 292-0122.