US crack down on candy and fruit flavored e-cigs like Juul to prevent children from getting addicted

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US crack down on candy and fruit flavored e-cigs like Juul to prevent children from getting addicted

e-cigs vaping

Reuters/Lucas Jackson

A sales clerk exhales vapor while smoking with a vaporizer during a wait for customers at the e-cigarette shop Henley Vaporium in New York.

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  • The FDA will announce plans to ban candy and fruit-flavored e-cigarettes from certain stores to try to stop young people from getting addicted.

  • The flavors will be banned from convenience stores and gas stations, but will still be available in vape shops. Menthol and tobacco flavors will not be banned.

  • The FDA Commissioner said in September that "e-cigs have become an almost ubiquitous - and dangerous - trend among teens."
  • A study into most popular maker, Juul Labs, found that a higher portion of young people aged 15-17 are using the product at least once a month compared to those aged 25-34.

The US Food and Drug Administration will announce a ban on the sale of fruit and candy-flavored e-cigarettes from companies like Juul in convenience stores and gas stations in a bid to stop young people getting addicted.

The agency also plans to introduce age-verification measures for online purchases to try to ensure that minors can't buy the flavors, The Washington Post reported.

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The planned restrictions will not include vape shops or other specialty retail stores, and menthol and tabacco will be exempt from the restrictions.

The FDA will announce the ban next week, officials told The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Reuters.

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In an interview in September, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said that "e-cigs have become an almost ubiquitous - and dangerous - trend among teens."

"The disturbing and accelerating trajectory of use we're seeing in youth, and the resulting path to addiction, must end," he said. "It's simply not tolerable."

juul e-cigarette

JUUL Labs

Juul Labs' products amass 70% of the e-cig market.

Popular e-cigarette startup Juul Labs has faced controversy over the appeal of its products for minors. The company was recently valued at $15 billion, and its products amass 70% of the e-cig market.

A Morgan Stanley research report published in November found that about 15% of Juul users weren't smokers before they started vaping, and that group tended to be younger than other vapers.

Read more: We just got our first look at how many minors are using Silicon Valley's favorite e-cig, and it doesn't look good

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Another survey in October found that a higher portion of young people aged 15-17 are using the Juul at least once a month compared to those aged 25-34.

In September, Juul Labs said it planned to work with the FDA, and that its "mission is to improve the lives of adult smokers by providing them with a true alternative to combustible cigarettes."

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