FDA temporarily suspends order banning sales of Juul

FILE – In this Dec. 20, 2018, file photo Juul products are displayed at a smoke shop in New York. Philip Morris and Altria have ended merger talks and JUUL’s CEO is stepping down from the top post as criticism over vaping continues to intensify. The companies confirmed last month that they were in discussions, more than a decade after splitting itself into two companies. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

by: Olafimihan Oshin, The Hill via Nexstar Media Wire

Posted: Jul 5, 2022 / 08:30 PM MDT

Updated: Jul 5, 2022 / 08:30 PM MDT

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(The Hill) – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday announced it had temporarily suspended its ban on sales of the popular e-cigarette maker Juul.

“On July 5, 2022, FDA administratively stayed the marketing denial order,” the agency’s Tobacco division wrote in a tweet. “The agency has determined that there are scientific issues unique to the JUUL application that warrant additional review.”

“This administrative stay temporarily suspends the marketing denial order during the additional review but does not rescind it,” the agency said in its Twitter thread.

“All electronic nicotine delivery systems, or ENDS products, including those made by JUUL, are required by law to have FDA authorization to be legally marketed,” the agency concluded. “The stay and the agency’s review does not constitute authorization to market, sell, or ship JUUL products.”

The health agency also said that the company is allowed to market its products in the U.S. for the time being.

Two weeks earlier, the health agency banned the sale of the e-cigarette maker, saying that the company did not prove to them that keeping their product on the market is the best for the “protection of public health”.

In a statement, FDA commissioner Robert Califf said that Juul has played a major role in the rise of vaping among U.S. youth.

“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,” Califf said in his statement.

A federal appeals court a day later temporarily blocked the FDA ban on Juul, granting the e-cigarette maker’s request for a stay order, noting that its order will not reflect its ruling on the case.