FDA allows marketing of Vuse tobacco-flavored vapes

On July 18 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the sale of the country's best-selling e-cigarette.

The agency's decision only applies to several tobacco-flavored versions of the reusable product, sold as Vuse. In January 2023, the FDA rejected R.J. Reynold's application for its more popular menthol flavor, but the company has challenged that ruling in court.

Last month, the FDA granted competitor Njoy the first authorization for a menthol-flavored e-cigarette. That vaping brand is controlled by tobacco giant Altria.

Despite the Vuse authorization, the FDA stressed that e-cigarettes are far from safe.

"All tobacco products are harmful and potentially addictive," the agency said in a new release announcing the decision. "Those who do not use tobacco products, especially young people, should not start."

In its decision, the agency noted that tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes do not hold the same appeal among youth that fruit- and candy-flavored vaping products do.

"While FDA remains concerned about the risk of youth use of all e-cigarettes, youth are less likely to use tobacco‐flavored e-cigarette products compared to other flavors," the agency said.

"According to the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey, Vuse was among the most commonly reported brands used by middle and high school students currently using e-cigarette. However, only 6.4% of students who currently used e-cigarettes reported using tobacco‐flavored products."

To further discourage vaping among teens and adolescents, the FDA added that it has placed tough marketing restrictions on the Vuse products, to guard against youth access and exposure.

In the past year, Vuse made up 40% of U.S. vaping sales, the Associated Press reported. Most sales are for Vuse menthol products, which remain available under a court order while Reynolds challenges the FDA's menthol ruling.

Juul Labs now trails Vuse in the vaping market, accounting for less than a quarter of retail sales, the AP reported. The company had to slash its marketing and promotions following legal settlements with states, local governments and families that blamed the brand's sleek e-cigarettes for hooking children on nicotine.

Some brands like Vuse have been sold in the United States for years, awaiting FDA action on their scientific applications, the AP reported. The market also includes thousands of fruit- and candy-flavored products from China that are illegal but still sold in convenience stores and vape shops.

The FDA missed a self-imposed court deadline last month to wrap up its yearslong review of major vaping brands. Juul's products remain under federal review, although FDA recently rescinded a 2022 order that would have forced the products off the market. That order never took effect because FDA regulators initially agreed to place it on hold following a legal challenge by Juul.

More than 26 million applications for vaping products have been rejected by the FDA, with only a handful of products authorized to help smokers so far.

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