Juul Labs banned from selling in the US
Last night the FDA announced that it would be banning the sale of all JUUL products in the US[1]. The reason being that there wasn't enough data to be confident that the marketing of this product was appropriate for the protection of public health.
Is This Ruling Fair?
Juul Labs has been targeted by the US Government over recent years due to the rise in teen vaping. Reports suggested that over 2 million teenagers in the United States use e-cigarettes[2]. Unfortunately, because JUUL is the most popular e-cig in the US it means that it took the majority of the blame. Previously Juul Labs had settled lawsuits with the US government over teen targeting[3], however this time the FDA has stepped in to completely shut down the sale of these products.
Juul Labs’ Response
According to the FDA Juul Labs didn't provide the same data other vape manufacturers did to justify keeping their products on the market. However, they responded with the following statement:
We respectfully disagree with the FDA's findings and decision and continue to believe we have provided sufficient information and data based on high-quality research to address all issues raised by the agency.
In our applications, which we submitted over two years ago, we believe that we appropriately characterized the toxicological profile of JUUL products, including comparisons to combustible cigarettes and other vapor products, and believe this data, along with the totality of the evidence, meets the statutory standard of being "appropriate for the protection of the public health."
We intend to seek a stay and are exploring all of our options under the FDA's regulations and the law, including appealing the decision and engaging with our regulator. We remain committed to doing all in our power to continue serving the millions of American adult smokers who have successfully used our products to transition away from combustible cigarettes, which remain available on market shelves nationwide[4].
Source: Joe Murillo, Chief Regulatory Officer at Juul Labs
Will The US JUUL Ban Impact The UK?
For now, Juul Labs will have to wait for a response for the FDA to determine whether the ban will go into immediate affect or if they will be given time to make a rebuttal. It also only applies to selling their products in the US, so they can still manufacture for overseas sales.
As these regulations are only in the United States, we can continue to sell JUUL kits as well as provide our great value JUULpod subscription. We will keep a close eye on this case to see if the US JUUL ban has a wider impact.
Sources
[1] BBC News. (2022). Juul: US bans all products from leading vaping company.
[2] CNN. (2021). More than 2 million US teens use e-cigarettes, a quarter of them daily, CDC and FDA find.
[3] BBC News. (2021). Juul to pay $40m in US lawsuit over teen targeting claims.
[4] Juul Labs. (2022). Statement by Juul Labs regarding recent FDA decision.
