Thursday, March 28

FDA recalls Juul e-cigarettes


Updated

The regulatory body prohibits the sale and distribution of vapers and capsules flavored with Virginia Tobacco and menthol

Disposable vapes at a store in California.AFP

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA, for its acronym in English) dealt this Thursday a severe blow to the cigarette industry electronics to ban the sale of Juul products at the national level. The company based in Washington DC and capital of Altria – the owners of Marlboro – will not be able to continue selling neither the vapers nor the capsules that made it the benchmark brand in the US for years.

Founded by Adam Bowen and James Monsees in May 2015, Juul Labs helped popularize e-cigarette use in the world’s leading powerhouse, especially among teens. At the end of 2017 it was the great market reference for that product with more than 70% of all sales nationwide.

In its statement, the FDA indicated that the company had provided insufficient data and conflicting information about potentially harmful chemicals that could leak through their capsules. Even so, they clarified that they have not received “clinical information that suggests an immediate danger” for consumers who possess Juul devices.

Robert Califf, commissioner of the government agency, called the decision “further progress in the FDA’s commitment to ensure that all electronic nicotine delivery systems and e-cigarettes currently marketed to consumers meet our public health standards.”

The ban affects both vapers and four of their capsules: those flavored with Virginia tobacco and menthol with nicotine concentrations of 5% and 3%. The company must stop selling and distributing these products in addition to withdrawing those that are already on the market.

Also Read  Ricardo Rubio: "We prioritize generational change"

This is a serious blow, not only for Juul but for the interests of Altria, the sixth largest tobacco company in the world by billing level. The owner of Marlboro and parent company of Philip Morris invested 12.8 billion dollars in December 2018 for 35% of the company, which signed an aggressive advertising campaign to hook the younger public to its products. Juul don’t hesitate advertise in teen magazines and in publications that helped children up to 11 years of age prepare their homework for school. They turned to models and successfully penetrated the market with flavors like creme brulee, mango, and cucumber.

However, the scrutiny on the brand has been constant in the last four years, especially by educational institutions and regulators. In April 2018, the FDA announced the ban on the sale of this class of cigarettes to those under 21 years of age after deaths associated with its consumption were registered.

Juul has already announced that it will appeal the sanction. They have the support of the mighty lobby of tobacco in the US and organizations such as the American Vapor Manufacturing Association. “Measured in lives lost and potentially destroyed, the FDA’s staggering disregard for ordinary Americans and their right to switch to the much safer alternative of vaping is sure to go down as one of the worst.” major episodes of neglect in the history of the United States,” said Amanda Wheeler, director of the association, in a statement.

However, the numbers of young people hooked on electronic cigarettes contradict his statement. They are new users who have never smoked tobacco but who are already addicted to vaping. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 3.6 million young people in the US consumed this type of product in 2018, 1 in 20 high school students between 11 and 13 years old.

Also Read  The FBI seized four “top secret” documents from Trump

According to the criteria of

The Trust Project

Know more




www.elmundo.es

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *