The US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday issued marketing denial orders to Juul Labs for all of the company’s products currently marketed in the US.
This means Juul must stop selling and distributing its e-cigarettes and pens as well as its tobacco and menthol-flavored pods. All products must be removed from the US market or the company risks “enforcement action,” the FDA said.
The FDA’s orders don’t affect consumers or people who’ve used Juul products. The FDA “cannot and will not enforce against individual consumer possession or use of Juul products,” the agency said in a news release. Retailers who sell Juul should contact the company if they have questions, the FDA said.
“Today’s action is further progress on the FDA’s commitment to ensuring that all e-cigarette and electronic nicotine delivery system products currently being marketed to consumers meet our public health standards,” FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf said in the release.
“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.”
The ban follows a broad review of Juul, which needed FDA authorization for its e-cigarettes to stay on the market. Juul can appeal through the FDA, or challenge the rule in court, according to The Wall Street Journal, which reported the FDA’s anticipated plans on Wednesday.
Juul has been reprimanded by the FDA in the past for promoting the company’s products as safer than other tobacco products. E-cigarettes were initially marketed toward former smokers to help them avoid the harmful effects of real cigarettes; they work by converting liquid nicotine into vapor. But experts have warned that the smooth delivery of a high nicotine content, packaged in a sleek design, may promote nicotine addiction in younger people.
The FDA has taken many steps to regulate the e-cigarette and vaping industry, including issuing a ban of flavored cartridge-based vaping products.
Juul is one of the bigger names in the industry, but not the only company selling e-cigarettes. As the WSJ reported, the FDA has cleared several of Juul’s rivals, including Reynolds American Inc. and NJOY Holdings, to keep tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes on the market.
Juul didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the FDA’s announcement.
Read more: Juul Vape: What Is It, Why Are Teens Addicted and Is It Safe?
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