The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted authorization for the sale of several tobacco-flavored versions of Vuse, the country’s best-selling e-cigarette brand. The decision, announced on Thursday, applies only to the reusable product sold by R.J. Reynolds.
In January 2023, the FDA rejected R.J. Reynolds’ application for its more popular menthol flavor, but the company has challenged that ruling in court. Last month, the FDA granted competitor Njoy the first authorization for a menthol-flavored e-cigarette, which is controlled by tobacco giant Altria.
Despite the Vuse authorization, the FDA stressed that e-cigarettes are far from safe, stating, “All tobacco products are harmful and potentially addictive. Those who do not use tobacco products, especially young people, should not start.”
The agency noted that tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes do not hold the same appeal among youth as fruit- and candy-flavored vaping products. According to the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey, while Vuse was among the most commonly reported brands used by middle and high school students currently using e-cigarettes, only 6.4% of students who currently used e-cigarettes reported using tobacco-flavored products.
To further discourage vaping among teens and adolescents, the FDA has placed tough marketing restrictions on the Vuse products to guard against youth access and exposure.
Vuse Dominates U.S. Vaping Market
In the past year, Vuse made up 40% of U.S. vaping sales, with most sales attributed to Vuse menthol products, which remain available under a court order while Reynolds challenges the FDA’s menthol ruling. Juul Labs now trails Vuse in the vaping market, accounting for less than a quarter of retail sales, following legal settlements that blamed the brand’s sleek e-cigarettes for hooking children on nicotine.
FDA’s Ongoing Review of Vaping Products
Some brands like Vuse have been sold in the United States for years, awaiting FDA action on their scientific applications. The market also includes thousands of fruit- and candy-flavored products from China that are illegal but still sold in convenience stores and vape shops. The FDA missed a self-imposed court deadline last month to wrap up its yearslong review of major vaping brands. Juul’s products remain under federal review, although the FDA recently rescinded a 2022 order that would have forced the products off the market. More than 26 million applications for vaping products have been rejected by the FDA, with only a handful of products authorized to help smokers so far.
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