Federal health officials have delayed a high-stakes decision on whether to permit bestselling vaping brand Juul to stay on the market, while banning the sale of thousands of other electronic cigarettes.
The FDA said it rejected applications for nearly 950,000 e-cigarettes and related products. Some of the products are currently being sold while many others were only proposed by manufacturers.
But the agency, which previously said it would prioritize applications based on company market share, mysteriously didn’t rule on Juul, the most popular brand with adult smokers and many teens, which accounts for nearly half of the $4 billion U.S. Market.
“There’s more work to be done to complete our remaining reviews and ensure that we continue taking appropriate action to protect our nation’s youth from the dangers of all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes,” the FDA said in a statement.
The FDA was ordered by a federal judge to take action by September 9, 2021 as part of a lawsuit brought by a number of anti-tobacco groups. Applications for more than 6 million vaping products were received by the FDA and the agency said it has taken action on 93 percent of those requests
