F.D.A. Order Juul to stop selling e-cigarettes

The agency has spoken out against the company's request to stay in the market, a decisive blow to a once-popular vaping brand that appealed to teenagers.

On Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration ordered Juul to stop selling e-cigarettes in the US market, a deeply damaging blow to a company once popular whose brand has been blamed for the teenage vaping crisis.

The order affects all of Juul's products in the US market, the main source of sales for the company. Juul's sleek vape cartridges and sweet-tasting pods helped usher in an era of alternative nicotine products that were exceptionally appealing to young people. The company's initial dominance drew intense scrutiny from anti-tobacco groups and regulators who feared the products were doing more harm to young people than good to cigarette smokers trying to quit.

Although teen vaping rates have declined during the coronavirus pandemic, public health experts and lawmakers continue to raise concerns about the nicotine additive in some e-cigarettes that remain on the market, including brands like Puff Bar, whose fruity flavors appeal to young people.

The F.D.A. did not address Juul's relationship with youth vaping. Instead, it was based on what the agency said was the company's insufficient and conflicting data on potentially harmful chemicals that could leak from Juul's e-liquid pods. There was no imminent threat to consumer health, the F.D.A. said, but he did not have enough evidence to assess the potential risks. Electronic nicotine delivery system products currently marketed to consumers meet our public health standards,” said agency commissioner Dr. Robert M. Califf in a statement. And he acknowledged that many e-cigarette products have played a role in increasing teen vaping.

The F.D.A. is part of a broad effort to redefine the rules for smoking and vaping products and to reduce illness and death from highly addictive nicotine-containing inhalable products.

On Tuesday, the agency announced plans to reduce nicotine levels in traditional cigarettes to discourage the use of the most lethal legal consumer products. In April, the F.D.A. said it would move toward a ban on menthol-flavored cigarettes.

The F.D.A. against Juul in particular is part of a new regulatory mission for the agency, which must determine which e-cigarettes currently on sale, or offered for sale, will be allowed to stay on shelves permanently. It has already allowed other companies' e-cigarettes to remain on the market.

But it could be years before some of the agency's new initiatives take effect. take effect - if they can withstand fierce resistance from the powerful tobacco lobby, anti-regulatory groups and the vaping industry.

Juul said that he disagreed with the findings of the F.D.A. and planned to appeal. The company could seek a stay from the agency or a court pending an appeal with the F.D.A. The company hasn't specified which route it will take, but it will try to keep its products in the market during any proceedings.

"We intend to request a reprieve," Juul's said. statement concluded, "and we are exploring all of our options under FDA regulations and the law, including appealing the decision and engaging with our regulator."

Public health groups hailed the decision.

"The F.D.A.'s decision to remove all Juul products from the market is both welcome and long overdue" , said Erika Sward, national assistant. .