Juul Ending Flavored E-Cigarette Sales in the United States

Leading e-cigarette company Juul will immediately stop selling several flavored products in the United States, the company announced Thursday. Only tobacco, mint and menthol flavors will remain for sale, meaning that Juul's mango, creme, fruit and cucumber flavors will no longer be for sale in the company's online store, which was the only place the company sold these products directly to 21-and-up consumers. The company pulled them from retail locations late last year.

The flavored pods are already removed from the company's online store in the U.S., but will continue to be sold abroad.

Juul's new CEO, K.C. Crosthwaite, said he hopes the announcement will build trust in the vaping industry.

"We must reset the vapor category by earning the trust of society and working cooperatively with regulators, policymakers, and stakeholders to combat underage use while providing an alternative to adult smokers," he said.

Juul will continue to sell tobacco, mint and menthol pods in US retail locations, but the company will "continue to review our policies and practices in advance of FDA's flavor guidance and have not made any final decisions," Juul spokesperson Austin Finan said in a statement. "We are refraining from lobbying the Administration on its draft flavor guidance and will fully support and comply with the final policy when effective."

The company also recently announced it was suspending all broadcast, print and digital product advertising in the US.

The move comes soon after the Trump administration officials said they would remove all flavored pods, including mint and menthol, leaving only tobacco flavored e-cigarettes on the market.

Amid a teen vaping epidemic and an outbreak of a deadly vaping-related lung disease, the Trump administration said last month that it was readying to remove all flavored e-cigarettes from the market until the FDA reviews them nd authorizes them to return to shelves. Administration officials at the time said the plan would be released within weeks, but they have yet to produce one.

"As we evaluate what products to submit for PMTA, we will continue to develop scientific evidence to support the use of these flavored products, coupled with strict measures to combat underage use, as we believe these products can play an important role in helping adult smokers move away from combustible cigarettes," the company said.

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