A judge in the United States has given Juul a temporary reprieve. This means that the company can keep selling its electronic cigarettes while it appeals a proposal from the Food and Drug Administration that could shut it down in its biggest market.
According to a court document seen by the Financial Times, the US court of appeals for the DC circuit said that the “administrative stay” should not be seen as a decision on the case’s merits. Juul has until Monday to file a formal motion, and the FDA has until July 7 to respond.
Juul is looking at a number of backup plans, such as a possible Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition, in case its appeal doesn’t work. Analysts think that Altria, the company that makes Marlboro cigarettes in the United States, may buy the remaining 65 percent of Juul.
A spokeswoman for Juul didn’t want to say anything, but the company’s lawsuit said that the FDA’s decision was “extraordinary and illegal” and that it was made because of “huge political pressure from Congress,” which was to blame for the rise in vaping among young people.
While the FDA’s first focus was on vaping by people under 18, it based its ban on the idea that the company hadn’t given enough or consistent information about the “toxicological profile” of its products.
