Juul has long argued that it's trying to save lives; meanwhile, its own existence seems precarious at times.

Right now is one of those times. As reported earlier today by numerous outlets, the once high-flying e-cigarette company just agreed to a $438.5 million settlement with 33 states that alleged the company marketed its product to underage users.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced the deal, noting that in addition to the financial terms, the settlement will force Juul to adhere to specific marketing and sales practices, including refraining from depicting anyone younger than age 35 in its marketing in film, on billboards or in social media, or to sell Juul-branded merchandise.

The company also agreed to never again fund education programs in schools, even while it spiked this short-lived practice years ago under pressure from regulators. (In 2018, Juul sponsored a summer camp in Baltimore, among half a dozen other initiatives that came to a halt that same year.)

The new settlement -- to be paid out over six to 10 years -- is by far the biggest to which Juul has agreed, though it's one in a growing string. Since last year, as noted by the WSJ, Juul agreed to pay a total of $87 million in settlements with four other states that brought lawsuits against the company. Meanwhile, Juul is still facing thousands of other lawsuits, including cases brought by nine other attorneys general.

That the company has not dissolved into a poof of smoke itself is something of a miracle. The company's sleek, rechargeable vaping devices and nicotine pods with sweet flavors like cucumber, mango, mint and crème brulée became hugely popular with teenagers soon after Juul was launched in 2015. But by early 2018, the outfit was being sued by customers who said they had become addicted owing to the product's high nicotine levels.

Still, with sales soaring, and investors knocking on its door, Juul's executives repeatedly denied that it was targeting teenagers, even while earlier ads showed attractive and seemingly very young men and women with Juul devices in hand. The company -- arguing that its products were designed for adult smokers looking for a safer alternative to combustible cigarettes -- instead ramped up its lobbying efforts in Washington.