FDA Fully Bans Juul E-Cigarettes

According to a report from The Daily Wire, the FDA has officially announced the e-cigarette company Juul has been ordered to remove their products from the American market.

“Today's action is further progress on the F.D.A.'s commitment to ensuring that all e-cigarette and electronic nicotine delivery system products currently being marketed to consumers meet our public health standards,” Dr. Robert M. Califf, FDA commissioner, said in a press release Thursday.

“The agency has dedicated significant resources to review products from the companies that account for most of the U.S. market,” he added. “We recognize these make up a significant part of the available products and many have played a disproportionate role in the rise in youth vaping.”

A press release from the FDA explained that “To date, the FDA has not received clinical information to suggest an immediate hazard associated with the use of the JUUL device or JUULpods.”

But their order on Thursday is reflective of the “FDA's determination that there is insufficient evidence to assess the potential toxicological risks of using the JUUL products. There is also no way to know the potential harms from using other authorized or unauthorized third-party e-liquid pods with the JUUL device or using JUULpods with a non-JUUL device.”

Michele Mital, acting director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, further clarified:

“The FDA is tasked with ensuring that tobacco products sold in this country meet the standard set by the law, but the responsibility to demonstrate that a product meets those standards ultimately falls on the shoulders of the company.”

Mital claims that Juul failed to supply the necessary information to meet FDA”s standards.

“As with all manufacturers, JUUL had the opportunity to provide evidence demonstrating that the marketing of their products meets these standards,” she continued. “However, the company did not provide that evidence and instead left us with significant questions. Without the data needed to determine relevant health risks, the FDA is issuing these marketing denial orders.”

Juul has stated that they disagree with the decision, with Joe Murillo, Juul's chief regulatory officer, saying that the company would seek a stay as it determines what to do next. Juul is “exploring all of our options under the FDA's regulations and the law, including appealing the decision and engaging with our regulator,” Murillo said in an emailed statement.

According to data obtained from Bloomberg, some Wall Street analysts said there was a chance that Juul could remain on store shelves pending an appeal. “We fully expect an appeal,” Owen Bennett, an analyst at Jefferies, wrote in a note, adding that he saw a reasonable chance that a stay is granted, “allowing them to remain on the market.”

The announcement of the ban has also caused a sort of frenzy amongst brand-loyal vapers, who are flocking to their favorite shops to stock up on Juul Labs Inc.'s e-cigarettes while they still can. Many disagree with the FDA's decision to take the product off the market. According to a report from Newsmax, many former smokers believe it to be a safer alternative to smoking traditional cigarettes.

With the ban now official, many are looking to the FDA to see if they will be going after more e-cigarette companies after dealing with Juul. While many believe the effects are not as bad as regular cigarettes , the FDA seems to think so, and may continue to try and shut the industry down in an effort to prevent children from picking up the habit.