FDA orders ban on all Juul electronic cigarettes

(WFSB) - The FDA has ordered all Juul electronic cigarettes be removed from stores in the United States.

The company has been heavily criticized for selling flavored vape pods that have been popular among teenagers.

For nearly two years the federal government has been investigating Juul.

Physicians said this sends a strong message.

Those in the vaping business are concerned about what this means for the industry going forward.

It’s the latest blow to the embattled company widely blamed for sparking a national surge in teen vaping.

“It’s simple to use, its highly effective and you can get really high doses, really quick,” said Dr. Melanie Sue Collins, Medical Director of the Division of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine at Connecticut Children’s.

Collins is pleased with the FDA’s decision.

“When kids start using nicotine earlier, they change the receptors in their brain so that they become more highly addicted than if they did when they started later in life,” said Collins.

Teen e-cigarette use skyrocketed more than 70-percent after Juul’s launch in 2015, with marketing and social media campaigns appealing to young people.

“It’s actually pretty disturbing to have an 11 or 12-year-old to tell you they have a classmate who is crying on the bus because they ran out of their vape juice,” Collins said.

Juul maintains its e-cigarette ads were not part of a deliberate effort to target youth.

Anti-tobacco advocates have been pushing for a ban on devices blamed for the rise in underage vaping.

Supporters said they can help smokers cut back on regular cigarettes.

“Will it decrease youth use? It’s a possibility. But the products are out there already number one and number two there are already other products out there that are going to replace them on the shelves,” said Andrew O’Bright, President of the Connecticut Chapter of Smoke-Free Alternative Trade Association

He fears the FDA’s decision may lead more people to go to the illicit market for products or turn to cigarettes.

“The worry to us as an industry is just if Juul can’t make it through with this application process, what is the hope for the rest of the industry?” said O’Bright.

Juul could appeal the FDA’s decision or file a new application for its products.

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