The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first menthol-flavored electronic cigarettes for adult smokers, acknowledging that vaping can potentially mitigate the negative effects of traditional tobacco smoking. The FDA said it authorized four menthol e-cigarettes from Njoy, the vaping brand recently acquired by tobacco giant Altria, which also sells Marlboro cigarettes.
The decision strengthens vaping companies’ claim that their products can reduce smoking, which is responsible for 480,000 US deaths annually due to cancer, lung, and heart diseases. E-cigarettes have been sold in the U.S. since 2007 but in recent years their potential benefits for smokers have been overshadowed by their use by adolescents and teens. Parent groups and anti-tobacco advocates have criticized the decision to ban menthol and other flavors that appeal to teens, following years of pressure from regulators.
Njoy, one of only three companies to receive FDA approval for vaping products, offers two menthol varieties as cartridges that heat liquid nicotine into an inhalable aerosol. The other two are disposable e-cigarettes. Njoy’s products accounted for less than 3% of U.S. e-cigarette sales in the past year, with Vuse and Juul controlling 60% of the market, and disposable brands accounting for the rest. Meredith Berkman, co-founder of Parents Against Vaping E-cigarettes said, “This decision could mean we’ll never be able to close the Pandora’s box of the youth vaping epidemic”.
