Juul will reportedly stop selling most flavored e-cigarettes in stores amid expected FDA crackdown

pulse

November 9, 2018 8:17 PM

Juul plans to pull its flavored products from stores but will continue to sell them online.

Juul Labs Inc., the creator of the sleek Juul e-cigarette that has swept the US, will reportedly end most brick-and-mortar sales of its flavored liquid pods, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal

According to the report, Juul will continue to sell its tobacco and menthol flavors in stores, and move the rest of its flavored offerings online.

On Thursday, The Washington Post reported that the following week, the FDA planned to announce stricter regulation of e-cigarettes, which have exploded in popularity in recent years. It was reported that according to senior FDA officials, most flavored e-cigarettes would be banned in stores, and that age verification rules would be imposed for online sales.

In September, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb rocked the burgeoning e-cigarette industry when he sent a letter to 1,200 retailers warning of potential fine for selling e-cigarettes to minors. In a speech, he called teenage vaping an "epidemic," following a report that documented 75% growth in high school vaping in the last year.

In October, Gottlieb wrote in a statement that he had met with leaders from Juul and other e-cigarette companies, saying the discussions were "constructive," and that industry leaders acknowledged "steps they would take

E-cigarettes have been controversial in the public health world. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledges that e-cigarettes have "the potential to benefit adult smokers who are not pregnant if used as a complete substitute for regular cigarettes and other smoked tobacco products." But a Morgan Stanley report found that 15% of Juul consumers didn't smoke cigarettes before they picked up their vape habit.

Beside the negative health effects of nicotine, which include addiction, fetus toxicity, and impaired brain development, e-cigarettes carry the risks that come with inhaling certain aerosols and flavorants, which may cause the now famously-termed form of inflammation called "popcorn lung," according to surgeon general warning.

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