Dec 11, 2019 - Health

Former FDA chief: "Juul should be pulled off the market entirely"

Marisa Fernandez

Dr. Scott Gottlieb with Axios' Mike Aklen — Former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb. Photo: Lawrence Jackson/Axios

Former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb told Axios' Mike Allen at an event Wednesday that Juul, a vaping company that has the largest market share of e-cigarettes, "should be pulled off the market entirely."

Why it matters: The Trump administration has stalled talks to ban flavored tobacco products as millions of teens within the past few years have become addicted to nicotine.

Though a nationwide flavor ban has been in the works, Gottlieb said the root of the problem isn't the flavors, but the convenience of cheap nicotine cartridges.

More often, he said, adults use open tank systems — bulkier, more expensive and more difficult to conceal e-cigarette products.
"Whatever benefits they had have been greatly overshadowed by the nicotine addiction 2018," Gottlieb said. "We were worried, and I still am."

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Former FDA chief: "Juul should be pulled off the market entirely"

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