by Harry Wilmerding
Health officials delayed a decision Thursday on whether e-cigarettes made by Juul and other top companies can stay on the U.S. market.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it needs longer than the Thursday deadline to determine if Juul and other select companies’ products can continue to be sold in the U.S., according to a press release.
The FDA has responded to 93% of the 6.5 million “new tobacco product” applications from e-cigarette companies, but said that “there’s more work to be done to complete our remaining reviews and ensure that we continue to take appropriate actions to protect our nation’s youth from the danger of all tobacco products,” the FDA said in the press release.
The FDA has taken over 946,000 flavored electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) off the market after concluding that the product lacked evidence purporting it to be a safer alternative to smoking, according to the statement.
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“We continue to work expeditiously on the remaining applications that were submitted by the court’s Sept. 9, 2020, deadline, many of which are in the final stage of review,” the FDA said.
The FDA must decide if vaping is a safer alternative to smoking cigarettes and the harm of young people getting hooked on nicotine. Over 80% of e-cigarette users are between the ages of 12-17, according to the press release.
“Lots of very good people who I respect deeply and who helped thousands of smokers quit, got told by our government that their products were illegal,” Amanda Wheeler, president of the American Vapor Manufacturers Association tweeted.
“To all of you, I am so very sorry. To your customers, I am even more sorry. Our government is wrong on this,” she said.
Juul, which has been the market leader in e-cigarettes since 2018, has had a 54.7% share of the $9.38 billion U.S. e-cigarette market, according to CNBC.
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Harry Wilmerding is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “JUUL” by Vaping360 CC BY 2.0.
