Whatever Happened to Juul?

The drawback with writing a e book about present occasions is occasions don’t keep present for lengthy. I completed writing my e book, Large Vape: The Incendiary Rise of Juul, in January 2021, at a time when the way forward for each mega-popular vaping model Juul Labs and your complete U.S. e-cigarette trade had been in flux. Every time information broke after the draft was accomplished, I needed I might return and replace it—however after all that wasn’t attainable.

I received some closure when my e book was tailored right into a Netflix docuseries, Large Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul, which premiered Oct. 11. The sequence’ producers labored on it lengthy after my e book got here out, permitting them to weave in massive developments that hadn’t occurred after I completed writing—however even nonetheless, the story of Juul and vaping is ongoing, and nobody is aware of the way it will finish.

Right here’s what has modified since Large Vape was revealed, and what I view as the largest query marks in regards to the vaping trade.

Regulators banned Juul…then back-tracked

The U.S. Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) has lengthy performed catch up in relation to regulating the vaping trade. Manufacturers together with Juul had been already broadly out there nationwide when, in 2016, the company finalized a course of for assessing their well being results. That meant e-cigarette firms already in enterprise needed to retroactively put together paperwork to show that their merchandise had been useful for public well being; in the event that they couldn’t persuade the FDA, regulators might get them organized to cease promoting their vapes within the U.S.

After I completed writing Large Vape, Juul had submitted its utility however the FDA hadn’t reached a verdict but. Then, in a dramatic resolution in June 2022, the FDA mentioned Juul had not offered enough toxicology information for its merchandise and ordered them off the market.

Then, following an attraction from Juul, the FDA started a secondary assessment of its information, which continues to be in progress. In the meantime, Juul gadgets stay available on the market. It is already been greater than a 12 months since that each one occurred, and the FDA has given little public indication about what it is going to in the end determine.

Juul has additionally submitted an utility for a brand new product: a Bluetooth-enabled “next-generation” machine that’s meant to lock out underage customers and reject counterfeit pods, but it surely’s anybody’s guess whether or not the FDA will authorize it.

Tobacco large Altria broke up with Juul

On the finish of 2018, the tobacco large Altria (which owns the corporate that makes Marlboro cigarettes) paid nearly $13 billion for 35% of Juul. However as scrutiny on Juul grew and the FDA cracked down on its advertising and gross sales practices, Altria valued its funding decrease and decrease—down to simply $250 million by the tip of 2022. In March 2023, Altria introduced it might alternate its minority possession stake for the best to license a few of Juul’s mental property, a sign that Juul’s enterprise had suffered sufficient that the Large Tobacco firm needed to maneuver on. Altria additionally bought NJOY, a distinct e-cigarette maker.

That’s just one ingredient of Juul’s monetary struggles. Juul has been sued by everybody from college districts to state attorneys basic for its position within the teen vaping epidemic, and over the previous couple years, it has agreed to pay practically $3 billion in authorized settlements. Juul’s income can be considerably down from its peak, and the corporate has been via a number of rounds of layoffs.

Teenagers have largely moved on from Juul

Juul turned infamous for being the e-cigarette teenagers utilized in college loos and on Snapchat. However today, federal information counsel underage customers have largely moved on to single-use vaporizers that—in contrast to Juul, which is now solely out there in tobacco and menthol varieties—are available tons of flavors. Among the many roughly 10% of U.S. teenagers who often vape, greater than half now use disposable e-cigarettes, in accordance with the FDA. My anecdotal analysis backs this up. After I’m strolling round my neighborhood in Brooklyn, I see tons of youngsters with vapes made by manufacturers like Elf Bar and Air Bar, and hardly any hitting Juuls.

For the report, most disposable vapes aren’t presupposed to be offered to anybody, underage or not, as a result of they haven’t gotten authorization from the FDA. However it’s confirmed so tough for the company to maintain up with regulating a big and ever-changing market that many proceed to be broadly out there.

There’s (nonetheless) a variety of debate in regards to the dangers and advantages of vaping

This was true after I started protecting vaping in 2018 and it’s nonetheless the case now. Some researchers consider vaping might help adults quit smoking cigarettes and transition to a less-dangerous type of nicotine. In the meantime, different research discover that vaping is just not an efficient method to quit smoking and will include vital well being dangers of its personal, together with elevated probabilities of growing lung and coronary heart ailments. The large caveat to the entire debate is that e-cigarettes solely turned broadly used and studied throughout the previous couple a long time, which isn’t all that lengthy on the earth of well being analysis. Extra well being dangers—or advantages—might come to gentle as vapers are studied for years to return.

One factor, nevertheless, stays clear: the most secure selection is to not use any tobacco product in any respect.