The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reportedly getting ready to order Juul Labs Inc to take its e-cigarettes off of the market in America.

According to the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday (June 22nd), people familiar with the matter say that the decision could be announced as early as today. The FDA had already banned the sale of fruity and sweet flavours for e-cigarettes, but now they may ban the sale of Juul products entirely.

The verdict would come approximately two years after Juul applied for approval to keep selling e-cigarettes in the United States. Their application tried to prove that the products offered a net benefit to public health.
 

The FDA’s review looks at whether or not the e-cigarettes are effective in getting smokers to quit. If so, then the agency will also decide whether the benefits to smokers outweigh the negative health impacts to new users that never smoked.

In October, the FDA allowed Juul competitor British American Tobacco Plc (BATS.L) to market its Vuse Solo e-cigarettes and tobacco-flavoured pods. That decision marked the first-ever vapor product to get clearance from the FDA.

Shares in Altria Group Inc (MO.N), who owns a 35% stake in Juul, fell 8% this morning after the Wall Street Journal report.

A spokesperson for Altria reportedly refused to comment. FDA representatives also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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