ǿմý

Skip to main content

Juul seeks to block FDA ban on its e-cigarettes in US

In this Dec. 20, 2018, file photo a woman buys refills for her Juul at a smoke shop in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File) In this Dec. 20, 2018, file photo a woman buys refills for her Juul at a smoke shop in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
Share

Juul on Friday asked a federal court to block a government order to stop selling its electronic cigarettes.

The e-cigarette maker asked the court to pause what it calls an “extraordinary and unlawful action” by the Food and Drug Administration. The company filed an emergency motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington as it prepares to appeal the FDA's decision.

The FDA said Thursday that Juul must stop selling its vaping device and its tobacco and menthol flavored cartridges.

The action was part of a sweeping effort by the agency to bring scientific scrutiny to the multibillion-dollar vaping industry after years of regulatory delays.

To stay on the market, companies must show that their e-cigarettes benefit public health. In practice, that means proving that adult smokers who use them are likely to quit or reduce their smoking, while teens are unlikely to get hooked on them.

The FDA said Juul's application left regulators with significant questions and didn't include enough information to evaluate any potential health risks. Juul said it submitted enough information and data to address all issues raised.

While Juul remains a top seller, its share of the U.S. e-cigarette market has dipped to about half. The company was widely blamed for a surge in underage vaping a few years ago, but a recent federal survey showed a drop in the teen vaping rate and a shift away from Juul's products.

The devices heat a nicotine solution into a vapor that's inhaled, bypassing many of the toxic chemicals produced by burning tobacco.

The company said in its Friday court filing that it submitted a 125,000-page application to the FDA nearly two years ago. It said the application included several studies to evaluate the health risks among Juul users.

Juul said that the FDA cannot argue that there was a “critical and urgent public interest” in immediately removing its products from the market when the agency allowed them to be sold during its review.

The company noted that the FDA denied its application while authorizing those submitted by competitors with similar products.

The FDA has OK'd e-cigarettes from R.J. Reynolds, Logic and other companies, while rejecting many others.

In 2019, Juul was pressured into halting all advertising and eliminating its fruit and dessert flavors after they became popular among middle and high school students. The next year, the FDA limited flavors in small vaping devices to just tobacco and menthol.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

CTVNews.ca ǿմý

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

BREAKING

BREAKING

The New Brunswick RCMP is asking people to stay away from the Starkey Road area in Long Creek, N.B., as they search for an armed teenager.

An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

Local Spotlight

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.

Stay Connected