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  5. ASTHO Commends FDA for Strong Action to Remove Juul E-Cigarette Products from the Market

ASTHO Commends FDA for Strong Action to Remove Juul E-Cigarette Products from the Market

June 24, 2022

ARLINGTON, VA—Yesterday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued marketing denial orders to Juul Labs Inc. for their Juul device and their tobacco- and menthol-flavored e-cigarette pods that comprise a significant portion of the e-cigarette market share in the U.S. These actions, which immediately prohibit the retail sale and distribution of these products nationwide without criminalizing individual use or possession, represent an important assertion of FDA’s authority to regulate tobacco products in order to protect the public's health.

"This announcement is a continuation of e-cigarette regulatory decisions FDA has been releasing since the summer of 2021, and is an important victory for public health," says Marcus Plescia, MD, MPH, chief medical officer at the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO). "The FDA should be recognized for making a significant and evidence-based decision to not allow Juul pods to be sold in the U.S. These products, once sold in a larger variety of youth-appealing flavors, have a huge role in the massive increase in youth e-cigarette use observed in recent years."

While the evidence remains unclear about the use of electronic nicotine delivery systems in smoking cessation, there are many options available to individuals who want to quit even with the removal of Juul products. Quitting tobacco all together is the healthiest strategy for all Americans, and public health officials should continue to focus on this goal in the months and years ahead.

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ASTHO is the national nonprofit organization representing the public health agencies of the United States, the U.S. territories and freely associated states, and Washington, D.C., as well as the more than 100,000 public health professionals these agencies employ. ASTHO members, the chief health officials of these jurisdictions, are dedicated to formulating and influencing sound public health policy and to ensuring excellence in public health practice.