Katharina Buczek
On June 23, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the marketing of all JUUL products currently sold in the United States.
The electronic cigarette company is now prohibited from selling and distributing any more products nationwide, including the JUUL electronic cigarette device and its four types of JUUL pods– Virginia Tobacco flavored at 5% and 3% nicotine concentration, as well as Menthol flavors at the same concentrations.
This move came in response to a reviewal of JUUL Lab’s premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs).
The FDA found that there was insufficient evidence “regarding the toxicological profile of the products to demonstrate that marketing of the products would be appropriate for the protection of the public health.”
Michele Mital, the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products’ Acting Director, explained how the responsibility of proving public health standards are met depends on evidence provided by companies.
“As with all manufacturers, JUUL had the opportunity to provide evidence demonstrating that the marketing of their products meets these standards. However, the company did not provide that evidence and instead left us with significant questions,” Mital said.
After the news surfaced, many teens and young adults took to social media to share their upset with the ban.
According to research conducted by Truth Initiative, the largest nonprofit organization dedicated to curbing nicotine addiction in the U.S., teenagers are actually sixteen times more likely to use JUUL products than adults.
So, the ban will at least temporarily take e-cigarettes out of the hands of underage users.
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