Juul submits application to FDA to keep selling e-cigarettes

(Reuters) – Juul Labs Inc said on Thursday it submitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that would allow it to keep selling e-cigarettes, which face heightened scrutiny over a surge in teenage vaping.

The company, in which Altria Group owns a 35% stake, has provided scientific data from over 110 studies evaluating the product’s impact on tobacco users and non-users, including those who are underage.

Vaping companies are required by the FDA to provide a Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA), which will include scientific data to show a product is appropriate for public consumption.

Manufacturers have until Sept. 9 to submit their application, failing which their products will be pulled from the market.

Once an application is submitted, companies can keep selling their products for a year from the date of deadline, without official approval, or until a negative action is taken by the FDA.

(Reporting by Aditi Sebastian; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)