Juul gets OK to sell updated vaping device with age-gating technology
[August 29, 2026] By
MATTHEW PERRONE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vaping company Juul Labs on Friday received federal
permission to sell an updated version of its e-cigarette, which includes
an optional age-verification system designed to prevent underage use.
The decision from the Food and Drug Administration allows the company to
sell a new version of its top-selling vaping device for the first time
since it launched more than a decade ago. In recent years, the company
has had to lay off hundreds of employees while paying roughly $3 billion
to settle government and private lawsuits over teen use of its products.
Juul plans to market the new device under the brand name Juul2, along
with updated versions of its tobacco- and menthol-flavored cartridges.
In 2019, the company discontinued several flavors, including mango, mint
and creme, that drove most of its sales but were favored by teens.
In a statement Friday, Juul CEO K.C. Crosthwaite said the company plans
to seek authorization for “a portfolio of flavors — beyond tobacco and
menthol — that are targeted to adult nicotine consumers.”
The latest announcement is not an approval or endorsement, and people
who do not smoke should not use Juul or any other e-cigarettes,
according to regulators. The FDA decision means that smokers who switch
completely to Juul can reduce their exposure to deadly carcinogens and
other chemicals found in traditional cigarettes.
According to company studies reviewed by the FDA, between 20% to 50% of
smokers who used Juul products were able to stop smoking at the end of
six weeks. The rates of quitting varied based on which flavors were
used.
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This undated photo provided by Juul Labs Inc. on Friday, Aug. 28,
2026, shows an updated version of the company's e-cigarette. (Juul
Labs Inc. via AP)
 The new device also gives users the
option to require age verification via an online app before the
e-cigarette can be unlocked.
The FDA has authorized a handful of e-cigarettes to help adult
smokers quit or cut back on cigarettes. In May, the FDA OK'd the
first fruit-flavored electronic cigarettes intended for adult
smokers. The approval represented a major policy shift and came
after months of appeals to President Donald Trump from the vaping
industry.
Juul is no longer the top-selling e-cigarette brand in the U.S. and
trails Vuse, which is sold by tobacco giant Reynolds American.
Reynolds also makes Camel and Newport cigarettes.
Teens have shifted away from Juul as part of a wider drop in vaping,
according to federal figures. Teens who continue to vape mostly use
unauthorized disposable e-cigarettes imported from China, which come
in fruit and candy flavors.
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