Juul Labs Inc. has agreed to pay a whopping $462 million to settle claims made by six states and the District of Columbia that it illegally marketed its addictive e-cigarettes to minors, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Wednesday.

"Today, Juul will pay for the widespread harm it caused," James said at a press conference. 

The company said in a statement it has now settled with 47 U.S. states and territories, paying out more than $1 billion. 

"The terms of the agreement, like prior settlements, provide financial resources to further combat underage use and develop cessation programs and reflect our current business practices, which were implemented as part of our company-wide reset in the fall of 2019," Juul said. "Since then, underage use of JUUL products has declined by 95% based on the National Youth Tobacco Survey."

The head of the FDA's center for tobacco products said last year that adolescent e-cigarette use in the United States remained at "concerning levels" and posed a serious public health risk. Federal health officials said last October that an estimated 2.55 million U.S. middle and high school students reported using e-cigarettes during a four-month span earlier in 2022.

Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, the addictive substance present in regular cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products, and nicotine in adolescence can harm the parts of the brain that control attention, learning, mood and impulse control, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC also has said using nicotine in adolescence may raise the risk for future addiction to other drugs.

Reuters contributed to this report.

This is a developing story and will be updated.