The Food and Drug Administration granted Marketing Granted Orders (MGOs) for five Juul products on Thursday. This marks the first authorizations of an Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) this year.
The e-cigarette maker said that while more than two million Americans have switched “completely” away from combustible tobacco using Juul, the Washington-based company said it is focused on making the cigarette obsolete.
“And for us, that mission is non-negotiable: we’re the only company in the U.S. market with a vapor MGO that doesn’t also sell cigarettes,” Juul said in a statement.
Proponents in favor of the agency’s latest news, include Tony Abboud, executive director of the Vapor Technology Association, who said more authorizations are needed.
“The Vapor Technology Association recognizes that while the FDA’s decision to authorize Juul Labs’ e-cigarette products for sale in the U.S. is a long-overdue step that reaffirms the role of vaping in helping adults quit smoking, one authorization is simply not enough to put a dent in the number of American lives lost to cigarettes,” Abboud said in a statement.
He said that the American independent vaping industry is at risk of being shut down.
“The FDA has deputized Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to seize products at the border based on an unlawful regulation,” he said. “These interdictions are threatening tens of thousands of American small businesses and have limited adult Americans’ access to their most favored products, which make up over 70% of the market.”
Thursday’s authorization, following a multiyear FDA review, has come under scrutiny, including from Yolanda Richardson, president and CEO of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, who called it a “big step” backward for preventing youth e-cigarette use.
“This is why Juul is having to pay over $1.1 billion in settlements of lawsuits brought by states and other parties,” Richardson said in a statement. “And despite recent declines in youth e-cigarette use, Juul products remain popular among youth. According to the 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey, Juul remained in the top five most popular e-cigarette brands among U.S. youth, including 12.6% of current middle and high school e-cigarette users. Juul was the third most popular e-cigarette brand among middle school e-cigarette users.”
On Friday, the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) and four associations affiliated with the convenience store and travel center industries called on the White House to crack down on the sale of illegal vape products from China in the marketplace.
In a July 18 letter, the organizations said the c-store industry is “systematically” losing sales to businesses that sell illicit products.
To date the FDA has authorized 39 e-cigarette products. These are the only e-cigarette products that currently may be legally marketed and sold in the United States.
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