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Youth

FDA Approves Juul E-Cigarettes, Citing Less Harmful Option for Adult Smokers

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The FDA has allowed vaping brand Juul to keep its e-cigarettes on the market, providing relief to a company that has struggled for years after being widely blamed for sparking the teen vaping trend. The decision applies to both tobacco-and menthol-flavored versions of the reusable product, which works with nicotine-filled cartridges sold in two different strengths. Juul previously discontinued several fruit and candy flavors that helped drive its popularity but were favored by teens.

Key Takeaways:

  • The FDA decision applies to both tobacco-and menthol-flavored versions of Juul's e-cigarettes, allowing the company to keep its products on the market.
  • Juul's e-cigarettes are considered less harmful for adult smokers who can benefit from switching completely to vaping, according to FDA regulators.
  • The company will be one of only two U.S. companies authorized to sell menthol-flavored vapes, which many adults prefer to tobacco flavor.
  • Juul CEO K.C. Crosthwaite stated that the company made a scientifically sound case for the role that menthol can play in e-vapor.
  • Parents, politicians, and antitobacco groups are likely to oppose the FDA's decision, calling for the permanent ban of Juul's products due to its role in triggering a yearslong spike in underage vaping.
  • Juul was once valued at over $13 billion and its small, sleek e-cigarettes revolutionized the image and technology of the vaping industry.
  • The company has since been forced to slash hundreds of jobs and pay billions to settle lawsuits over its role in the rise of youth vaping.
  • The FDA initially ordered the company to remove its products from the market in June 2022 but reversed course and agreed to reopen its scientific review of Juul's application.
  • The FDA determination indicates that smokers who switch completely to Juul can reduce their exposure to deadly carcinogens and other chemicals found in traditional cigarettes.

Statistics:

  • Juul's e-cigarettes are considered less harmful for adult smokers who can benefit from switching completely to vaping.
  • The FDA has authorized a handful of e-cigarettes to help adult smokers cut back on traditional cigarettes, while rejecting more than a million other vaping products that failed to meet agency standards.
  • Juul's main competitors, Vuse and Njoy, each previously received FDA permission to remain on the market.
  • In 2019, Juul was pressured into halting all advertising and eliminating most of its flavors, leaving only tobacco and menthol-flavored cartridges for its device.
  • In 2022, the company paid $1.7 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits brought by families of Juul users, school districts, city governments, and Native American tribes.
  • Juul is no longer the top-selling e-cigarette brand and now trails Vuse, which is sold by Reynolds American.
  • Teens have also shifted away from the brand amid a wider drop in vaping, according to the latest federal survey.
  • The FDA reported last year that teen vaping dropped to a 10-year low, after stepped up enforcement against unauthorized brands imported from China, such as Elf Bar.

Sources:

  • Matthew Perrone, The Associated Press (August 2023)
  • The FDA (2023)
  • Juul Labs, Inc. (2023)
  • The Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education (source of funding for The AP Health and Science Department)
  • The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (source of funding for The AP Health and Science Department)
  • The Associated Press (multiple articles)

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