FDA Orders Juul To Remove E-Cigarette Products From US Market

A popular brand of electronic cigarettes used by teenagers across America will now be nearly impossible to get.

On Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration announced that Juul can no longer sell its electronic cigarettes in the United States.

The move is just the latest regulations targeting the company, which the government said largely marketed to teens.

Two years ago, the FDA limited flavors in small vaping devices to just tobacco and menthol, banning popular fruity and sweet flavors.

"Vaping has really erased two decades worth of progress that we made in reducing teen smoking," said Thomas Larson, spokesperson for TSET.

TSET is a state agency in Oklahoma aimed at cutting down tobacco use.

He said over the past few years, e-cigarette use has skyrocketed in high school kids.

"We've really seen an explosion,” said Larson. “Some surveys show nearly a third of high school kids vaping at some level."

Larson said these products are just as addictive as regular cigarettes.

He hopes new regulations on Juul and other similar brands will discourage kids from vaping.

"Since vaping devices went on the market, it's been kind of a wild west of an industry with very little regulation,” said Larson. “I think what we're seeing is more action by the FDA to really look at the data."

From a business perspective, it may be too early to tell the full impact.

We called several smoke shops across Tulsa who said they stopped selling Juul products two years ago.

Larson said their surveys show 18 percent of adults in Oklahoma use tobacco products.

Only 10 percent of them use electronic cigarettes.