The Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that it has reversed its ban on Juul e-cigarettes while it reviews new court rulings and considers updated information from the vape maker.
The FDA first ordered the company to stop selling its products in 2022, but they have remained on the shelves pending an appeal. Juul has maintained its status as the No. 2 e-cigarette manufacturer in the US during this time.
Now the FDA says Juul’s products are back under review, though it stressed that this new status was not an indication that they would be fully approved.
It said federal statutes prohibited additional information from being released.
Juul became one of the standout successes of the initial burst of e-cigarette use more than a decade ago. That success has been plagued by concerns that e-cigarettes are introducing a new generation of people to nicotine addiction. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vaping peaked at about 28% among all high school students in 2019.
Although Juul has since entered a period of financial cuts, sales of e-cigarettes and other alternative nicotine products have continued to grow.
Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that e-cigarette use grew by nearly 50% between January 2020 and December 2022. During that period, the agency said, Juul trailed only Vuse among e-cigarette brands.
Now there are signs that e-cigarette growth is being outpaced by smokeless tobacco products.
Philip Morris, which now owns nicotine pouch maker Zyn, recently reported that the smokeless category is up 21% from a year ago and now accounts for nearly 40% of the company’s total sales, according to Barron’s.
In a statement, Juul said it appreciated the FDA’s latest decision, adding that it now looks forward to “engaging again with the agency on a science and evidence-based process to seek approval.” for placing on the market” for its products.
“We remain confident in the quality and content of our applications and believe that a full assessment of the science and evidence will demonstrate that our products meet the regulatory standard of being suitable for the protection of public health,” said Company.
Even as Juul continues its appeal of the 2022 ban, that initial FDA ruling significantly disrupted the company’s finances, prompting a bailout from two of its largest investors, The Wall Street Journal reports.
So far, the FDA has officially approved only 23 e-cigarette products, made by just three companies, for market to consumers.