Big Vape: Is Juul still banned?

❘ Published: 2023-10-12T13:43:09

Still from Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul

Netflix

A new documentary about the rise and fall of the vape giant Juul has arrived on Netflix – so, here’s what you need to know about if Juul is still banned, including in the US, and why it was banned in the first place?

Juul was originally touted as the alternative to the big tobacco industry, positioning itself as a sleek new product; the Apple launch of the e-cigarette world.

However, as is shown in the opening sequence to Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul on Netflix, “At its height, Juul employed over 4,000 people, and was valued at nearly $40 billion. Today, it is worth less than 5% of that value.”

So, what exactly happened? Amid the release of the four-part documentary series, we’ve broken down why the company was banned in the US and what its status is today.

Big Vape: Is Juul still banned?

Despite being banned in the US in June 2022, a hold on the ban was placed a few days later pending investigation, meaning Juul’s devices and unflavored vaping pods are still on sale in America.

On June 23, 2022, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the sale and distribution of all Juul products from being sold or distributed in the United States by issuing marketing denial orders (MDOs) to JUUL Labs Inc.

However, as is revealed in the Netflix docu-series, Juul successfully appealed the ban and remained on the market pending an additional PMTA review. So while the FDA hasn’t reversed the restriction, Juul can continue to sell its products until a decision is made.

Big Vape: Why was Juul banned?

The FDA effectively moved to ban the sale of Juul products in the US due to what it claimed to be a lack of “sufficient evidence” to suggest the product is safe enough to market while remaining “appropriate for the protection of public health.”

In a statement shared at the time, the FDA said: “After reviewing the company’s premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs), the FDA determined that the applications lacked sufficient evidence regarding the toxicological profile of the products to demonstrate that marketing of the products would be appropriate for the protection of the public health.

“In particular, some of the company’s study findings raised concerns due to insufficient and conflicting data – including regarding genotoxicity and potentially harmful chemicals leaching from the company’s proprietary e-liquid pods – that have not been adequately addressed and precluded the FDA from completing a full toxicological risk assessment of the products named in the company’s applications.

“To date, the FDA has not received clinical information to suggest an immediate hazard associated with the use of the JUUL device or JUULpods. However, the MDOs issued today reflect FDA’s determination that there is insufficient evidence to assess the potential toxicological risks of using the JUUL products.”

When the ban was put on hold shortly after, Joe Murillo, chief regulatory officer at Juul Labs, said in a statement: “With the administrative stay from the FDA now in place, we continue to offer our products to adult smokers while we pursue the Agency’s internal review process.

“We remain confident in the quality and substance of our applications and believe that ultimately we will be able to demonstrate that our products do in fact meet the statutory standard of being appropriate for the protection of the public health. We now look forward to re-engaging with the FDA on a science- and evidence-based process to pursue a marketing authorization for JUUL products.”

Big Vape: Is Juul still in business?

Yes, Juul is still in business and its products can be purchased in the US and in many territories worldwide. However, the Netflix documentary highlights that the business is now worth just 5% of what it was during its height.

There are numerous factors contributing to this. One is the sheer amount of money the company has had to pay in settlements in recent years. As the documentary states: “As of the end of 2023, Juul has paid nearly $3 billion in legal settlements across the US. The future of the company remains uncertain.”

This figure includes a $462 million settlement with New York, California, and several other states reached earlier this year, resolving lawsuits accusing Juul of marketing its e-cigarettes to underage consumers and fuelling a teen vaping epidemic.

Juul’s early marketing strategy comes into question in Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul, with experts claiming it mirrored that of the big tobacco industry’s strategies decades before – by appealing to younger people and glamorizing its nicotine products.

While ultimately the ban and lawsuits have impacted Juul as a business, another reason for its drop in value is increased competition, with disposable vapes dominating the market in recent years.

Sales were boosted further amid the Trump administration’s February 2020 decision to ban the sale of sweet and fruit-flavored vape refill pods, a rule that didn’t apply to disposable e-cigarettes.

Ultimately, much like the wider vaping industry, the story of Juul is a gray area. But in regard to where this specific company may have tripped up, Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA Center for Tobacco Products, tells Netflix: “The tragedy isn’t the product that they produced.

“The tragedy is that they then engaged in advertising, marketing, and promotion coupled with a product that did a better job of delivering an addictive drug that appealed to kids – whether they intended it or not.

“And by doing that, they blew up all the progress that was being made. That is the ultimate tragedy.”

Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul is available to stream on Netflix now, and you can check out more of our documentaries coverage below: