Juul wins FDA authorization after years of limbo
The move could breathe life into the once dominant but now embattled vape maker.
The Food and Drug Administration will allow Juul Labs to market its e-cigarettes, paving the way for a comeback after a federal ban and years of regulatory limbo.
The company announced on Thursday that it received marketing authorization from the FDA for its vaporizers and cartridges after years of not being able to promote its products. That puts it in a position to gain back market share in a landscape now dominated by illicit disposal vapes from China.
Juul first submitted its products for FDA approval in 2020. In 2022, the FDA issued a ban on the sale of Juuls, which was later rescinded, but the company was still not authorized to market its products until now. As a result, Juuls were available at convenience stores but the company could not legally advertise them.
The American vape company was one of the first to popularize the cigarette alternative in the early 2010s. It was also hit with costly lawsuits and widely blamed for hooking young people on nicotine after decades of declining tobacco use rates.
Meanwhile, vapes imported from China have exploded in popularity. Those are not FDA approved but are available in convenience stores and smoke shops across the country.
Philip Morris International and Altria, two legacy tobacco companies with their own vape products, slipped on the news that Juul was granted FDA authorization. (Altria bought a minority stake in Juul for $12.8 billion in 2018, which it sold in 2023 at a loss.)
