Raleigh, North Carolina – E-cigarette company Juul Labs Inc. has agreed to pay North Carolina $40 million as well make changes to its business practices in the state to settle a lawsuit accusing them of illegally marketing their products to minors.

"North Carolina is now the first state in the nation to hold Juul accountable for its instrumental role in creating a youth vaping epidemic," North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein said in a statement on Monday.

Juul Labs, the most popular e-cigarette brand in the United States, has been blamed by regulators and health officials for increased usage of e-cigarettes among teens in recent years. Last year, the company had withdrawn certain flavors from the market.

"For years, JUUL targeted young people, including teens, with its highly addictive e-cigarette. It lit the spark and fanned the flames of a vaping epidemic among our children – one that you can see in any high school in North Carolina," Stein said.

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Stein began investigating Juul in 2018 and sued the company in 2019 for designing, marketing, and selling its e-cigarettes to attract young people and for misrepresenting the potency and danger of nicotine in its products.

Juul will pay $40 million to the state over the next six years. That money will be used to fund programs to help people quit e-cigarettes, prevent e-cigarette addiction, and research e-cigarettes.

"This settlement is consistent with our ongoing effort to reset our company and its relationship with our stakeholders, as we continue to combat underage usage and advance the opportunity for harm reduction for adult smokers," the company said in a statement.