FDA bans the sale of Juul e-cigarettes in the US 

Juul e-cigarettes will be pulled from shelves across the United States today amid a Biden-led crackdown on the industry which is accused of being a gateway for young people to start smoking.

The Food and Drug Administration said it was banning the sale of all Juul products, including its vape devices and remaining menthol and tobacco-flavored pods.

But it added Americans would still be able to own and use the devices.

The agency took the move after Juul failed to provide ‘sufficient evidence’ that the products met safety requirements. It also raised concerns over potentially hazardous liquids that can leak from the devices.

E-cigarette supporters blasted the ban on America’s most popular vape product as one of the ‘greatest episodes of regulatory malpractice in history’.

But public health groups welcomed the block, arguing Juul had been allowed to ‘target and hook’ youngsters on tobacco for ‘far too long’.

The move is the latest in the FDA’s review of e-cigarettes being sold in America, with popular fruit and mint flavors having already been banned.

Popular e-cigarette brand Juul has its products pulled from shelves after the FDA denied its application to get around a ban of flavored nicotine

The FDA said today’s ban applied to any Juul device, as well as its pods containing tobacco or menthol at three and five percent strength.

It issued a Marketing Denial Order to stop their sale, with a spokeswoman for the agency saying it came into force from today.

But Juul’s website is currently still allowing Americans to purchase e-cigarettes and refills on their devices.

The FDA has threatened enforcement action on any businesses that continue to sell e-cigarettes from Juul, but has failed to detail what this would entail. 

Michele Mital, the agency’s acting director for tobacco products, said today that Juul had failed to demonstrate its products met safety standards.

‘As with all manufacturers, Juul had the opportunity to provide evidence demonstrating that the marketing of their product meets these standards,’ she said.

‘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.’

FDA commissioner Robert Califf accused Juul of playing a ‘significant part’ in the rise of vaping among youngsters. 

DailyMail.com has contacted Juul for a statement on the order.

The company had been seeking approval from the FDA for its vaping device and pods.

But today’s decision means the remaining Juul products will now be pulled from the shelves.

Juul is the most popular e-cigarette brand on the market, believed to be behind about 42 percent of all devices sold.

The second most popular is Vuse, behind about 36 percent. 

The American Vapor Manufacturing Association — which represents the industry — blasted the move today.

Its president Amanda Wheeler said: ‘Measured in lives lost and potential destroyed, the FDA’s staggering indifference to ordinary Americans and their right to switch to the vastly safer alternative of vaping will surely rank as one of the greatest episodes of regulatory malpractice in American history.’

Several public health groups have, however, welcomed the move.

Erika Sward, the vice-president of advocacy for the American Lung Association, said: ‘The FDA’s decision to remove all Juul products from the marketplace is both most welcomed and long overdue.

‘Juul’s campaign to target and hook kids on tobacco has gone on for far too long.’

Devices like JUULs have largely been blamed for recent upticks in teen tobacco usage due to their fruity flavors and an easy way to carry and use them without detection (file photo)

In 2019 federal data found that one in four high school children had used an e-cigarette at least once over the previous 30 days. This was a surge from 11.7 percent just two years beforehand.

Concerns were further heightened in 2020 amid an outbreak of vaping-related lung disease. 

But amid the ongoing crackdown at the FDA use of the cigarettes has now dropped back to 11.3 percent among youngsters.

E-cigarettes work by delivering nicotine to users by vaporizing liquid in cartridges or pods, with nicotine being the substance making them addictive.

Manufacturers argue their products can help people quit smoking by delivering nicotine to them without the related health risks.

The FDA told all vape manufacturers to submit for regulatory approval in 2020, and has now processed about one million out of three million applications. 

In April 2021, the agency banned menthol flavored cigarettes while also banning all types of flavored cigars.

Refillable cartridge e-cigarettes that contain fruit or mint flavors were banned as well, though cartridges that are meant to be disposed of are still allowed for sale.

Flavored products in particular are often the target of regulations because they are easier to use as a gateway for people that do not smoke already, since one of the primary deterrents to picking up tobacco is the taste.

It especially plays a role for younger smokers who use vape devices like a Juul.

Under the new rules, a company hoping to market a fruit or mint flavored refillable device must first receive approval from the FDA — which rejected hundreds of them.

To get around these orders, many companies started to use synthetic forms of the drug in their devices to circumvent regulators. That loophole was closed in April.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also published a study in March finding that more than 2.5 million U.S. students had used a tobacco product of some sort in 2021 – a definition that includes nicotine devices that do not disperse tobacco.

Officials reported that 80 percent of tobacco use was attributable to disposable e-cigarettes and cartridge products – like a Juul.

In the study, around 2.06 million high schoolers – 13 percent of the study population – and four percent of middle schoolers – 470,000 participants – reported ‘current’ tobacco use.

The CDC reports that more than 2.5 million students in the U.S. were ‘current’ users of tobacco products in 2021. This includes 13% of high schoolers and 4% of middle schoolers

Disposable e-cigarettes and refillable cartridges account for over 80% of teen tobacco product usage in America

For comparison, in 2020 the CDC reported that eight percent of high schoolers and three percent of middle schoolers were current tobacco users.

Students were also asked if they had ever used tobacco products in their life, with 34 percent of high schoolers and 11 percent of middle schoolers reporting at least one use.

E-cigarette devices were most to blame for the increase in nicotine and tobacco use over the past year, according to the CDC study.

Of the students who did report being current smokers, 54 percent use a disposable e-cigarette and 29 percent reported using some sort of refillable device – similar to a Juul.

Between them, the devices which allow teens to easily and conspicuously use nicotine account for over 80 percent of overall student tobacco use.

Nicotine does not carry many of the same negative effects and cancer risks that tobacco, but does increase the risk of high blood pressure, artery shrinking and increased heart rate.

E-cigarettes’ use among school-aged children can be attributed to their flavors, and the devices resemblance to a USB stick, allowing kids to easily carry them at school without getting caught.

Some states and cities have banned the sale of flavored nicotine products, though there have been mixed results as to whether they successfully prevented teens from picking up the habit.

Opponents to these bans say that they will push teens to using more harmful tobacco products like cigarettes, instead of nicotine, which carries less risk.

‘By bashing safer nicotine products such as vaping we are going to inadvertently encourage high schoolers to smoke instead, which will be an awful outcome,’ Mark Oates, director of consumer advocacy group We Vape, told DailyMail.com in March.