ST. GEORGE — The federal Food and Drug Administration on Thursday issued a ban on JUUL electronic cigarettes and vaping devices from being sold in the U.S. And while one local e-cigarette business owner said he welcomes the action, he says enforcement may be nothing more than blowing smoke.
Nearly half of the e-cigarettes and vaping products on the U.S. market are Juul Labs Inc. products, according to analysts’ reports. The FDA issued a marketing denial order that effectively makes it illegal for JUUL products to be sold or distributed in the United States.
Brendon Gunn, the owner of the Cloud 9 Vapor shops in Washington City and Mesquite, said his stores do sell some JUUL products but also said that Altria and Phillip Morris – one of the majority owners of Juul Labs – has been irresponsible with the high amount of nicotine in its products.
“We do sell JUUL products though we don’t want to,” Gunn said. “The only reason we carry them is to show them other products we believe to be safer and lower in nicotine that are better functioning and better quality and have a purpose to not only get people away from combustible products but stay away from them.”
In 2018, according to a Wells Fargo analysis, Juul Labs products represented 75% of the e-cigarette market. However, that share has trailed off since – to 42% in 2021.
In a statement, the FDA cited public health, saying Juul Labs has not provided sufficient evidence that the products are not toxic.
“Today’s action is further progress on the FDA’s commitment to ensuring that all e-cigarette and electronic nicotine delivery system products currently being marketed to consumers meet our public health standards,” Dr. Robert M. Califf, FDA commissioner, said in a statement.
The Washington County School District is one of hundreds of school districts suing Juul Labs for what it says is its marketing to youth and misleading consumers about the dangers of its product.
The items banned include the JUUL device and four types of JUULpods: Virginia tobacco-flavored pods at nicotine concentrations of 5.0% and 3.0% and menthol-flavored pods at nicotine concentrations of 5.0% and 3.0%.
Gunn said the higher concentrations are the issue and added his store manufactures its own products that deliberately have less nicotine – the chemical in tobacco products and traditional cigarettes that causes addiction.
“Our goal at Cloud 9 from the very beginning has been to help people get away from traditional tobacco and the addiction of nicotine,” he said. “They’re trying to keep people enslaved to nicotine. We’re trying to help people step down.”
In a statement, Juul Labs Chief Regulatory Officer Joe Murillo said his company is also ultimately committed to weening people off nicotine and said it will appeal the FDA decision.
“We remain committed to doing all in our power to continue serving the millions of American adult smokers who have successfully used our products to transition away from combustible cigarettes, which remain available on market shelves nationwide,” Murillo said.
Gunn said he is skeptical that the FDA action will have any effect, accusing the FDA of “being in bed” with Altria, which is also the parent company of many traditional cigarette brands including Marlboro.
“It’s just another game of chicken. The government is a partner for big tobacco,” Gunn said. “Anything the government has ever done has not been enforced. They don’t have the means to enforce it. They’re just making their bed to collect from the tobacco industry.”
The move does not mean those currently possessing JUUL products are doing anything illegal. In its statement, the FDA said, “The FDA cannot and will not enforce against individual consumer possession or use of JUUL products or any other tobacco products.”
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