Why is FDA only banning Juul’s vaping products?

As many may know, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has banned the e-cigarette manufacturer, Juul, from selling its products within the U.S. As someone who’s gotten both of my parents to quit smoking by introducing them to Juul’s products, I feel the FDA is acting incredibly irrationally.

Given that Juul makes up nearly half of the U.S. e-cigarette market, I have to ask myself, is the FDA trying to get people back to smoking cigarettes? Firstly, the FDA has said that in order to stay on the market, vaping companies must show that they benefit public health. Interesting … I wonder if the FDA uses the same criteria when evaluating traditional tobacco companies; given that it’s impossible for them to benefit public health. Curiously, they have faced none of the public scrutiny that vaping companies have in recent years.

In regards to Juul, the FDA has said that the company’s application didn’t include enough evidence to prove that marketing its products would “be appropriate for the protection of public health.” It sounds like a reasonable complaint, until one learns that Juul’s application was over 125,000 pages and cited innumerable studies addressing their supposed concerns.

I must ask, why is Juul the only vaping company that gets this treatment from the FDA? Why has the FDA approved e-cigarettes from RJ Reynolds and other big tobacco companies, but put the hammer down on the main product that consumers love and trust? Is there any proven disparity in health outcomes between the different products? One thing is for certain, the results from this will result in a massive shift of wealth and power among vaping companies as consumers scramble to purchase the only products they can.

Caleb Campbell

Everett