APHA welcomes FDA ban of JUUL products from the U.S. market
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Media Relations
Today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued marketing denial orders for all JUUL Labs Inc. products marketed in the United States, meaning that sale and distribution of JUUL products must stop immediately. JUUL has been one of the most popular e-cigarette brands since entering the market in 2015, making up 49.7% of all e-cigarette sales in 2021.
Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, causing more than 480,000 premature deaths annually and costing the nation over $289 billion in health care expenses and other economic losses every year. While smoking rates have been declining in the U.S., youth use of electronic tobacco products has soared in recent years. In 2021, about 1 of every 9 high school students (11.3%) reported that they had used electronic cigarettes in the past 30 days. If cigarette smoking continues at the current rate among youth in this country, 5.6 million of today’s Americans younger than 18 will die early from a smoking-related illness. That’s about 1 of every 13 Americans aged 17 years or younger who are alive today.
When FDA announced in 2018 that it would be taking enforcement action against e-cigarette products, it outlined that applicants would be required to demonstrate, as part of the Premarket Tobacco Product Application, data demonstrating that a tobacco product is appropriate for the protection of public health. Specifically, e-cigarette manufacturers would be required to provide data on how their products would impact tobacco cessation, tobacco initiation and risks and benefits to the population as a whole. In today’s announcement, FDA stated that JUUL’s PMTA application lacked sufficient evidence to demonstrate that marketing of the products would be appropriate for the protection of the public health.
“As long as these products are on the market, youth will find them, putting them at risk for smoking initiation and a lifetime of adverse health effects including premature death,” said APHA Executive Director Georges C. Benjamin, MD. “APHA will continue to urge Congress and the administration to address this public health crisis and remove products from the market that pose a threat to public health. Our children deserve no less.”
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The American Public Health Association champions the health of all people and all communities. We are the only organization that combines a 150-year perspective, a broad-based member community and the ability to influence federal policy to improve the public’s health. Learn more at www.apha.org.