Juul Labs can continue selling its e-cigarettes for the time being, after a federal appeals court on Friday issued a temporary stay on a ban by the US Food and Drug Administration.
On Thursday, the FDA ordered Juul to stop selling and distributing its vape pens and flavored pods. The agency said that when Juul applied for a required FDA authorization to market its tobacco products, the company failed to provide sufficient evidence that the products meet legal standards around public health.
Juul disagreed and on Friday filed for an emergency hold on the ban while the company prepares a follow-up request that the ban be suspended while Juul appeals the FDA’s decision.
In granting the administrative stay, the appeals court reportedly said Juul has until Monday at noon to file its additional request and that the FDA has until July 7 to file its response. The court will then decide whether the products should be taken off the market while it considers Juul’s appeal.
The FDA’s ban follows a broad two-year review of Juul, which needed the agency’s authorization for its e-cigarettes to stay on the market. E-cigarettes were initially marketed to former smokers as a way of helping them avoid the harmful effects of real cigarettes. They work by converting liquid nicotine into vapor. But experts have warned that the smooth delivery of a high nicotine substance, packaged in a sleek design, may promote nicotine addiction in younger people.
Each year, 480,000 people die from diseases attributed to smoking, according to the FDA.
Neither Juul nor the FDA responded to a request for comment.
CNET’s Jessica Rendall contributed to this report.
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