On June 23, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) blocked the sale of Juul’s e-cigarettes products in the United States until further review of the products is done. However, two weeks later the FDA temporarily stayed its order allowing the company which is partly owned by the Altira Group to retain its products in the market. This was done following the company’s appeal of the ban by the regulator. This was seen as a reprieve for many Juul product users across the country as they can now access the products.
A day after the FDA had decided to stay its order albeit temporarily the U.S. federal appeals court sided with Juul Labs Inc’s argument by putting on hold the FDA’s ban on the company’s products. Juul Labs Inc had gone to court to appeal the FDA’s order arguing that the order was intended to cause irreparable harm to the company.
However, the court’s Freeze of the FDA’s order is temporary as it ends on Tuesday, July 12 when the case will come up for hearing. While the reprieve Juul Labs Inc got has many users of the products happy it is still not clear what will happen on Tuesday in the coming months.
The FDA says that it has determined that Juul’s application for licensing has some scientific issues that need further review. This is why the agency issued an order banning the sale of the company’s products in the country. This does not in any way mean that Juul Labs Inc has done anything illegal or that its products are not safe for use. However, scientific reviews by the FDA take time and this situation is likely to remain fluid over the coming months.
The good news is that FDA says that the temporary suspension of its order will remain in place until the review is finalized. This should give Juul product users some hope as they will still be able to access the products even if the court does not extend its suspension of the order on Tuesday.
As the weeks roll around all eyes will be on the U.S. federal appeals court on Tuesday to know the fate of the ban. However, the tussle between the FDA and Juul Inc is expected to be a long process. Juul product users should therefore keep an eye on this developing story.
