Former FDA Commissioner David Kessler, MD, told CNBC he doesn't think the agency will allow Juul and other e-cigarette companies to stay on the market.
Dr. Kessler, who led the agency's efforts to regulate the tobacco industry in the 1990s, in the interview said he "can't see how" Juul wins regulatory approval from the FDA.
All e-cigarettes currently on the market have to go through FDA review to stay on the market, and the deadline to submit applications is May 2020. Dr. Kessler said he wouldn't bet on any e-cigarettes surviving the FDA review.
Juul has largely been blamed for fueling the outbreak of a mysterious vaping-related lung illness that the CDC named EVALI. Dr. Kessler said the company's use of nicotine salts, which makes high concentrations of nicotine less harsh on the throat, made it easier for kids to get hooked on e-cigarettes. Nicotine salts also deliver a faster and more intense hit than freebase nicotine, which was used in e-cigarettes before Juul introduced the salts in 2015, according to CNBC.
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