A federal court has temporarily blocked the government’s decision to order maker Juul to stop selling its e-cigarettes.
Updated yesterday at 6:41 p.m.
Earlier Friday, Juul had filed an emergency motion with the United States Court of Appeals in Washington so it could appeal the ban on sales, and the court later granted the request.
Juul had asked the court to stay what it calls an “extraordinary and unlawful action” by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that would have forced it to immediately cease operations.
The FDA ruled on Thursday that Juul must stop selling its tobacco and menthol flavored vaping device and cartridges.
The move is part of a broad effort by the agency to conduct a scientific review of the multi-billion dollar vaping industry after years of legislative delays.
To stay in the market, companies must demonstrate that their e-cigarettes benefit public health. In practice, this means that they must prove that adult smokers who use them are likely to quit or reduce their tobacco consumption, and that adolescents are not at risk of becoming addicted to these products.
The FDA said the documents provided by Juul left lawmakers with important questions and did not contain enough information to assess the risks. Juul said, on the contrary, that it had submitted enough information and data to answer all the questions raised.
The company said the FDA denied its request to put its order on hold to avoid a massive disruption to its business.
Even though Juul remains a top seller, its share of the US e-cigarette market has fallen by about half. The company was widely blamed for an increase in underage vaping a few years ago, but a recent federal investigation showed a drop in teen vaping rates and a shift away from Juul’s products.
Vaping devices heat a nicotine solution into a vapor that is inhaled, avoiding many of the toxic chemicals produced by burning tobacco.
In its court filing on Friday, the company claimed it submitted an application comprising 125,000 pages to the FDA nearly two years ago. She said the app included several studies to assess the health risks for Juul users.
Juul argues that the FDA cannot say there was a “critical and urgent public interest” in immediately removing its products from the market when the agency cleared them for sale during its review.
The e-cigarette maker noted that the FDA rejected its application while allowing those submitted by competitors with similar products.
The FDA has notably approved electronic cigarettes from RJ Reynolds Logic and others, but has also rejected many other companies.
In 2019, Juul was forced to halt all advertising and phase out its fruit and dessert flavors after they became popular among young college students. The following year, the FDA limited the flavors of small vaping devices to tobacco and menthol.