PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — The School District of Palm Beach County will file a lawsuit against one of the biggest manufacturers of vaping products in America.
The School Board voted on Wednesday afternoon to move forward with a lawsuit against Juul Labs, Inc.
The goal of the litigation is to combat the epidemic of youth vaping within Palm Beach County schools.
"Schools are continuing to struggle to contain this harmful and dangerous behavior, and have been forced to divert resources to monitoring and disciplining the rapidly growing number of students using vaping products on school grounds," the school district said in the statement.
There will be no cost to the school district for the lawsuit, according to the statement.
If the school district receives a settlement from Juul Labs, Inc., 75 percent of that money will go to the school district and 25 percent will go to the law firms representing the district.
"The top priority of the School District of Palm Beach County is the safety and well-being of our students and staff" the district said in the statement. "Palm Beach County does not intend to stand by and allow this crisis to escalate further."
RELATED: What you need to know about vaping
According to the latest numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been 34 vaping-related deaths and 1,604 vaping-related illnesses across the U.S. this year, as of Oct. 24.
The outbreak appears to have started in March, according to the CDC.
No single ingredient, electronic cigarette, or vaping device has been linked to all the illnesses. Most who got sick said they vaped products containing THC, the high-inducing ingredient in marijuana.
Earlier this month, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced she's launching an expansive investigation into more than 20 vaping companies who sell products in Florida.
WPTV and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
