LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — An advertising agency has agreed to pay $350 million in a settlement with U.S. states over its marketing role in the American opioid epidemic.
From the settlement with Publicis Health , Michigan will get almost $11.7 million, which the state will use to help address the opioid crisis, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said Thursday.
“The corporations who profited wildly from the devastating opioid epidemic must pay for prevention and remediation to assist the recovery of those impacted,” Nessel said.
Between 2000-2020, the opioid death rate in Michigan increased by an average of 13.9% each year, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
According to CBS News , Publicis Health is the first advertising company that has reached a major settlement over the toll of the opioid epidemic in the United States.
Publicis said in a statement that “This settlement, in which the Attorneys General recognized Publicis Health’s ‘good faith and responsible corporate citizenship,’ is in no way an admission of wrongdoing or liability.”