Vaping brand Juul Labs can continue to sell its e-cigarettes and refill cartridges, the Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday.
The decision comes as the once-pioneering company struggled for years against heightened regulatory scrutiny and backlash as its flavored pods became popular amongst young people, contributing to the rise in teen vaping.
The brand, once worth over $13 billion, has also floundered amid the multi-year FDA review, a flurry of lawsuits and massive loss in sales. But the FDA’s decision may provide Juul, which nearly filed for bankruptcy following a federal ban in 2022, a new lease of life.
In its ruling, the FDA said it found that Juul’s studies proved its e-cigarettes are less harmful for adult smokers, who can benefit from switching from cigarettes to vaping. The company will be just one of two in the US allowed to sell menthol-flavored vapes.
“This is an important milestone for the company and I think we made a scientifically sound case for the role that menthol can play in e-vapor,” Juul CEO K.C. Crosthwaite told The Associated Press.
The decision has already received backlash from parents and anti-tobacco groups, which have argued for years that Juul is responsible for the years-long increase in youth vaping.
“It’s a big step in the wrong direction to authorize sales of the product that was responsible for this public health crisis in the first place,” said Yolonda Richardson, the CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
Ahead of the decision, Juul attempted to drive away some of its teen consumers by discontinuing several fruit and candy flavors that were favored by that demographic. Still, the company has been forced to pay billions to settle lawsuits over its role in the rise of teen vaping.
The FDA had ordered the company to remove its products from the market in June 2022, but quickly changed course after Juul pushed back in court. Juul had argued that regulators overlooked thousands of pages of scientific data, and the agency then allowed to reopen its scientific review of Juul’s application.
Notably, the FDA’s decision does not equate an endorsement of the products, rather Juul provided evidence that its products met the legal standard for marketing new tobacco products in the US. With the announcement, the FDA reiterated that people who do not smoke should not use Juul or any other e-cigarettes.
The agency, however, did find that smokers who switch completely to Juul can reduce their exposure to deadly carcinogens and other chemicals in traditional cigarettes.
“It’s critically important that American adults who use tobacco have regulated options,” Crosthwaite, the CEO of Juul, added.
With reporting from the Associated Press.
