FDA Bans JUUL
CEH applauds the FDA’s decision to protect public health and children’s health by removing Juul products from the U.S. market. Previously, we took legal action against Juul and won landmark victories, forcing them to warn consumers of the cancer-causing chemicals in its products, and ending their marketing and advertising to children. We thank the FDA for prohibiting the sale of these dangerous products in the U.S.
7 years ago, we tested the first-ever large sampling of e-cigarette products. We found that nearly 90% of the e-cigarette companies had at least one product containing high levels of the cancer-causing chemicals formaldehyde or acetaldehyde, violating California safety standards. We took legal action against more than 60 companies – including Juul – for failing to warn consumers, forcing the industry to conform to legal labeling requirements, creating mandatory product safety standards, and restricting many companies marketing to kids.
On Twitter, Dr. Scott Gottlieb wrote “JUUL was ]the] fulcrum of the youth vaping crisis; it was driven by their product and marketing practices. FDA is right to be circumspect. Electronic devices offer opportunity for adult smokers to transition off combustible products but must be conceived, marketed by responsible actors.”
Far from safe, e-cigarettes also contain nicotine, a highly addictive neurotoxin that affects the central nervous and circulatory systems, causing blood vessels to constrict and raise blood pressure as well as numerous other toxic chemicals known to cause cancer or birth defects —including benzene and lead.
With declining teen cigarette smoking, Juul designed a sophisticated marketing campaign to attract minors by convincing them e-cigarettes are safe, developed a highly potent, addictive product to keep them coming back, offer youth appealing flavors, such as mint, mango and fruit medley, and construct the products in a way that makes their detection especially difficult for teachers or parents. A typical Juul cartridge contains as much nicotine as a pack of 20 regular cigarettes and delivers it up to 2.7 times faster than other e-cigarettes, increasing the potential for addiction.
In October of 2019, CEH reached a legally binding, court-enforceable agreement with JUUL mandating restrictions on their marketing and advertising to children.