BUFFALO, N.Y. — For now, Juul e-cigarettes can still be sold in the United States despite an FDA ruling last week banning their sale.
Juul is appealing the FDA's decision, so a federal court is allowing sales to move forward during the appeals process.
So what kind of an impact could this have on people who use vaping products to quit smoking?
Just last week, Juul became the latest vaping product to be banned by the FDA. The FDA ruled the company did not give enough data after a two-year-long review to evaluate the potential health risks of its products.
"There's a lot of data showing that it's much, much, much less dangerous than cigarettes," says Lynn Kozlowski, Professor of Community Health & Health Behavior, School of Public Health Professions at the University at Buffalo
Professor Kozlowski says Juul is one of the most extensively researched e-cigarette products on the market.
"There's a lot of evidence that it's a product that's much less dangerous than cigarettes. You have to keep in mind that cigarettes are known to kill three in five smokers prematurely and they knock off an average of ten years of life," says Lynn Kozlowski.
Kozlowski isn't sure the FDA ruling will end up sticking.
Associate Professor Maansi Bansal-Travers from Roswell Park says the decisions the FDA is making about e-cigarettes are made to make these products less appealing to young people.
So what does she think Juul users will end up doing?
"Some Juul users may decide to switch to another vaping product that has been reviewed and authorized by the FDA. Some of our data suggest that this could also be an occasion where users quit everything and that would be a great outcome. Anything that can get people off of cigarette smoking, in particular, is going to be really, really helpful for their health," says Maansi Bansal-Travers, Associate Professor of Oncology, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.
If you need help quitting smoking, the New York State Smokers' Quitline can help you. It is free for New York State residents.