WASHINGTON, D.C. — This morning, the Wall Street Journal revealed that the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products will be imminently issuing marketing denial orders (MDOs) to Juul Labs for its current line of vaping products. As would be expected, this leak from the agency has inspired news stories stating that Juul will soon be pulled from shelves.
“Predictions of doom and gloom for Juul are understandable, but may be proven to be premature,” explains Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping Association, a nonprofit that advocates for sensible regulation of vaping products.
Conley cites two factors: (1) the high likelihood that an administrative stay with be issued allowing Juul products to remain on the market while it appeals the FDA’s decision; and (2) the fact that Juul still has applications pending at the FDA for its next-generation device that has Bluetooth features to deter youth usage.
As a result, Conley predicts that Juul’s current line of products will remain on the market for an undetermined length of time. Meanwhile, the FDA will continue to assess Juul’s applications for updated products not currently available on the U.S. market.
“The FDA could very well come to different conclusions on Juul once they study the features of the new Juul device,” says Conley.
While Juul remaining on the market would be great news for adult smokers and ex-smokers, this expected decision still represents another in a long line of disastrous decisions from the FDA and the Biden Administration on nicotine and tobacco regulation.
“With rampant inflation and an economy slipping into a recession, one would think that the Biden Administration would be laser focused on taking steps to improve the lives of Americans. Instead, they are ignoring the science and banning hundreds of thousands of products used by adults to stay off cigarettes,” said Conley. “The Biden Administration believes in harm reduction for fentanyl users, but their message to adult smokers and ex-smokers is to drop dead.”
Juul usage among youth continues to decline. The 2021 Monitoring the Future Survey found that past-30 day use of Juul among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders fell from 28.3% in 2019 to 4.8% in 2021.
About the American Vaping Association
The American Vaping Association is a nonprofit organization that advocates for fair and sensible regulation of vapor products, otherwise known as electronic cigarettes, with the goal of maximizing the number of adult smokers who use these products to quit smoking. The AVA was founded by Gregory Conley, a consumer and industry advocate with a long track record of advocating for vapor products dating back to 2010.
We are dedicated to educating the public and government officials about public health benefits offered by vapor products, which are battery-powered devices that heat a liquid nicotine or nicotine-free solution and create an inhalable vapor. The AVA is not a trade group and does not speak for any particular businesses, including our industry sponsors.
You can learn more about AVA and vaping by visiting the AVA website. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.