The FDA has temporarily paused its ban on Juul products. How harmful are they?
The Food and Drug Administration temporarily removed its ban of Juul Labs, Inc. products.
The decision comes almost a year after North Carolina agreed to a legal settlement with Juul, resulting in millions of dollars for youth to quit tobacco and restrictions on how the company can advertise and sell to North Carolinians, The Charlotte Observer reported.
E-cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco products among middle and high schoolers, with 2 million users under the age of 18 nationwide, according to the FDA.
Juul is often blamed for the teenage vaping epidemic since its products contain high levels of nicotine, the same addictive chemical found in cigarettes. In 2019, after receiving national criticism, the company discontinued sales of its fruity flavors popular among children.
Why were Juul products banned?
In a news release, the FDA said Juul’s premarket tobacco product applications, which all tobacco companies are required to submit, “lacked sufficient evidence” to show the products would be beneficial to public health.
“As with all manufacturers, JUUL had the opportunity to provide evidence demonstrating that the marketing of their products meets these standards,” said Michele Mital, acting director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “However, the company did not provide that evidence and instead left us with significant questions. Without the data needed to determine relevant health risks, the FDA is issuing these marketing denial orders.”
Juul argued that its products are advantageous to public health because more than 2 million people have switched from cigarettes to Juul in an effort to stop smoking.
How are Juul products harmful to the body?
Since Juul products are relatively new, scientists have not been able to study their long-term effects on the body.
Researchers at the UC San Diego School of Medicine conducted a study published in May to evaluate the short-term health effects of Juul vapors by exposing young adult mice to the aerosols three times a day for three months.
After three months, researchers observed inflammatory markers in a critical region of the brain responsible for motivation and reward-processing, suggesting that Juul users could be at risk for developing anxiety and depression.
The study also found increased inflammation in the colon resulting from Juul vapor exposure, which could increase the risk of gastrointestinal disease, and decreased levels of inflammation in the heart, which could make it more vulnerable to infection.
Since the lungs did not show tissue-level signs of inflammation, researchers concluded that further information was needed to determine the effects of Juul usage on pulmonary health.
In addition to internal health risks, fires and explosions caused by e-cigarettes have resulted in serious injuries, and children have been poisoned by swallowing, breathing or absorbing liquid from these devices through their skin or eyes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This story was originally published July 6, 2022 at 11:10 AM.
