Statement: Juul’s announcement is too little, too late

E-cigarette giant will stop selling fruity flavors, but continue selling mint and menthol pods

U.S. PIRG

The major e-cigarette company Juul plans to stop selling fruity flavored products, but will leave mint and menthol flavored pods on the market, according to recent news. The announcement comes in anticipation of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s intended move to clear the market of all non-tobacco flavored e-cigarettes. 

In September, the FDA proposed taking non-tobacco flavored e-cigarettes off the market pending review, but the timeline is unclear. The Trump administration was praised by public health advocates for the potential move, and criticized by members of the vaping industry. 

U.S. PIRG’s “End the Nicotine Trap” campaign director Matthew Wellington released the following statement regarding Juul’s announcement:

“Juul’s announcement is too little, too late. If the company truly wants to address its role in the youth vaping epidemic, it would stop selling all non-tobacco flavored e-cigarettes, including mint and menthol.

“The FDA should seize this opportunity to implement its proposed plan to take non-tobacco flavored e-cigarettes off the market immediately. According to preliminary data from this year’s National Youth Tobacco Survey, mint or menthol ranked as the second most popular flavor category among high school e-cigarette users. If the FDA doesn’t act quickly, we’ll continue to see half measures to a public health crisis that warrants a full scale solution.”