Juul can continue to sell e-cigarettes, FDA says
Written by laserteam on July 17, 2025
(NBC News) – Juul Labs can continue to sell its e-cigarettes and refill cartridges per a decision Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration.
According to an announcement on Juul’s website, the FDA determined that its e-cigarette device and pods — which come in tobacco and menthol flavors — are “appropriate for the protection of public health.”
Thursday’s authorization, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, marks the long-awaited conclusion to a multiyear FDA review that placed the products in regulatory limbo.
An FDA spokesperson said the authorization does not mean the products are safe or “FDA approved”; rather, Juul provided evidence demonstrating that its e-cigarettes met the legal standard for marketing new tobacco products in the U.S.
The spokesperson said the FDA must consider the risks and benefits to the U.S. population as a whole, including the benefits to adults who currently smoke cigarettes. Juul submitted robust data to show that high rates of adults switch from cigarettes to menthol- or tobacco-flavored Juul products, the spokesperson said.
“This is good news for the millions of Americans who still smoke cigarettes,” Juul Labs said in an online statement.
The company has positioned its products as an alternative to traditional cigarettes, which contain tobacco. Juul’s e-cigarettes are tobacco-free. However, they contain nicotine, the active ingredient in tobacco, which can be addictive. The chemicals in e-cigarettes have also been linked to lung and heart disease.
The FDA in 2022 ordered Juul to stop selling its e-cigarettes, citing a lack of evidence needed to assess their potential health risks. The decision followed a nearly two-year review of Juul’s application seeking FDA authorization, which is required by law for companies to market e-cigarettes.
At the time, the FDA under the Biden administration said there was “insufficient and conflicting data” about “potentially harmful chemicals leaching from the company’s proprietary e-liquid pods.” But the FDA suspended the ban less than two weeks later, telling Juul it could continue to sell its products while the agency carried out a review.
