The US Food and Drug Administration is expected to remove e-cigarette brand Juul from the market after a widespread review of vaping products.
The Wall Street Journal reported the food and drug regulator intends to cease the sale of the US-based Juul Labs Inc’s products, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Juul Labs attracted US$12.8bn of funding from the owner of American cigarette brand Marlboro, Altria Group, in December 2018, leading to much speculation it was among the crop of fast-growing 'unicorns' in the e-cigarette space.
The ban follows claims the brand’s nicotine products, which are flavoured like fruit and endorsed by celebrities, are increasing underage tobacco use.
And some reports claim the block on the sale could happen as soon as this week.
On Tuesday, the regulator published plans for new regulation that could put in place a maximum threshold for nicotine in cigarettes and other combustible tobacco products - designed to reduce related addiction and deaths among the country’s youth.
The regulator said 480,000 people die prematurely each year due to smoking-attributed disease, making tobacco one of the leading causes of preventable disease and deaths in the US. Tobacco use costs nearly US$300bn in healthcare and lost productivity each year, it added.
So far, the FDA has denied more than a million ‘electronic nicotine delivery systems’ access to the US market out of 6.7 million applications received by 9 September 2020.
The regulator has also issued warning letters to manufacturers who continue to sell illegally in the US market.
It is in the middle of completing its review of applications for approval with a focus on products with large market share. The regulator has also issued a public education campaign targeted at young people about e-cigarette use.
FDA Commissioner Robert M Califf said: “Lowering nicotine levels to minimally addictive or non-addictive levels would decrease the likelihood that future generations of young people become addicted to cigarettes and help more currently addicted smokers to quit.”
The FDA previously wrote to Juul Labs in April 2018, notifying the company of an investigation into the sale of its products to minors.
The regulator issued warning letters and penalties to 40 retailers that summer which had allegedly sold Juul products and other e-cigarettes to minors, according to notices posted on its website.
Shares in Altria, which owns a 35% stake in the vaping products manufacturer, fell 9.19% yesterday.