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Juul sues the FDA for failing to release the documents used to justify the e-cigarette bans she blames for the US vape crisis
- Juul is suing the Food and Drug Administration for refusing to release information about why it supports the company’s ban
- Juul accused FDA of violating federal Freedom of Information Act by withholding majority of ‘scientific disciplinary reviews’
- On September 6, Juul agreed to pay $438.5 million to settle claims from 34 U.S. states and territories over its marketing and sales practices.
- The company was found to have used social media and young models to sell their vapes to a younger audience
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Juul Labs, the vaping company responsible for much of the crisis gripping the nation’s teens, has sued the US Food and Drug Administration over the agency’s refusal to release documents in support of its injunction. to ban the company.
In a complaint filed Tuesday, Juul accused the FDA of invoking “widely abused” deliberative process privilege to improperly withhold scientific materials that are “central” to understanding the basis for the June 23 sales ban.
Juul said the materials would demonstrate whether the FDA has made a legally required trade-off between the public health benefits and the risks of its products.
The materials would show the company’s findings whether they help smokers quit smoking and whether the agency’s reasoning was scientifically sound.
“The public deserves a complete picture of the scientific facts behind one of the most controversial and scrutinized decisions of recent years,” Juul said.
Vaping titan Juul has sued the FDA for allegedly withholding the scientific documents used to justify the company’s ban
Juul is blamed for causing a public health crisis, especially among the country’s teenagers, and especially marketing to younger people with sleek designs and fruity flavors
On September 6, Juul agreed to pay $438.5 million to settle claims from 34 U.S. states and territories over its marketing and sales practices
An FDA spokeswoman declined to comment, saying the agency is not discussing pending lawsuits.
Juul accused the FDA of violating the federal Freedom of Information Act by withholding a majority of the “scientific disciplinary reviews” behind the sales ban.
It said it had filed an administrative appeal through the agency, but the FDA missed a September 13 deadline to resolve it.
A federal appeals court temporarily suspended the sales ban on June 24.
The FDA then decided on July 5 to let Juul sell its products for the time being, as “scientific issues” unique to the company warrant further review.
On Sept. 6, Juul agreed to pay $438.5 million to settle claims from 34 U.S. states and territories over its marketing and sales practices, including improper courtship of teenage buyers.
While the company admitted to making no mistakes during the settlement, it did say they were trying to “solve past problems.”
“We think this will go a long way in curbing the flow of youth vaping,” Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said, but added that he “cannot claim it will stop youth vaping.” ‘.
Connecticut and Virginia got more than $16 million in the suit, while Texas got $43 million.
The investigation revealed that Juul is trying to market the vape products to kids via social media, hire young models and even hand out free samples.
They also called the company’s age verification system “porous” and found that 45 percent of the company’s Twitter followers were teenagers.
Juul is now prohibited from marketing their products with anyone under the age of 35 in the advertising images.
The company is still mired in legal trouble and facing lawsuits from the states of New York and California, along with 3,500 individual cases involving people and schools that have now been merged into one case.
Marlboro cigarette maker Altria Group Inc paid $12.8 billion in 2018 for a 35% stake in Juul.
Altria estimated that stake at $450 million on June 30.