• by Tanya Gazdik , June 25, 2024

The Food and Drug Administration is clearing the way for Altria Group to sell menthol e-cigarettes, despite the outcry by parent groups and anti-tobacco advocates, who have pushed to keep menthol and other flavors that can appeal to teens off the market.

“This decision could mean we’ll never be able to close the Pandora’s box of the youth vaping epidemic,” says Meredith Berkman, co-founder of Parents Against Vaping E-cigarettes. “FDA has once again failed American families by allowing a predatory industry to source its next generation of lifetime customers — America’s children.”

Youth vaping has declined from all-time highs in recent years, with about 10% of high schoolers reporting e-cigarette use last year. Of those who vaped, 90% used flavors, including menthol, according to The Associated Press.

“In announcing its decision, the FDA said it found that menthol-flavored e-cigarettes can reduce the harms of traditional tobacco smoking, according to CBS News. “But the agency emphasized that it is not approving menthol vaping products, which would mean the FDA had determined a drug is safe and effective for its intended use. Instead, authorization by the agency only means Njoy has received regulatory approval to market its products to the public.

The decision allows tobacco giant Altria Group Inc. to market four different menthol-flavored e-cigarettes, just two months after the Biden administration controversially delayed making a decision about banning menthol cigarette sales, according to Bloomberg.

“The products, marketed under Altria’s NJOY brand, are the first e-cigarettes to be approved that aren’t tobacco flavored,” per Bloomberg. “Before Friday, questions had been looming around whether the FDA would ever approve an e-cigarette with a flavor besides tobacco. The move will also help Atria diversify its business.”