Research Tools: UNC Collaboration to Create Public Depository of Nearly 4 Million Documents Associated with North Carolina Vaping Settlement, First 280K Docs Now Online

From the University of North Carolina:

A partnership between the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s University Libraries and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) will create an online searchable public depository of roughly 4 million internal documents from the state of North Carolina’s $47.8 million settlement with electronic cigarette maker Juul Labs.

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“The release of millions of previously private internal Juul Labs documents will be a treasure trove to tobacco control researchers, public health practitioners and the news media,” said Kurt M. Ribisl, Jo Anne Earp Distinguished Professor and Chair of Health Behavior at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Public Health. “Attorney General Josh Stein negotiated to require Juul Labs to disclose their internal emails, reports to investors, and strategy documents. The public will soon learn the truth and get a behind-the-scenes look at how Juul Labs became the leading youth e-cigarette brand.”

Ribisl was an expert witness in North Carolina’s case against Juul Labs and other lawsuits against the company brought by other states.

The first 280,000 documents are now available online as part of the UCSF Industry Documents Library. UNC-Chapel Hill and UCSF will publish the remaining documents monthly, concluding the project in 2025.

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“Libraries have deep expertise in managing complex information, along with a strong professional ethos of collaboration,” said María R. Estorino, vice provost for University libraries and University librarian at UNC-Chapel Hill. “This partnership between UNC-Chapel Hill and UCSF is a perfect example of libraries working together to bring vitally important information directly to the public.”

Learn More, Read the Complete Announcement

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