FDA’s announcement on Logic’s e-cigarette products underscores urgent need for decisions on top e-cigarette brands comprising 75% of the market and should include menthol flavors

Statement of Robin Koval, CEO and President, Truth Initiative

We are grateful to see movement again by the FDA on the e-cigarette pre-market approval process under Dr. Califf’s leadership and the recognition of the risks these products pose to America’s youth while assessing the public health benefit for adult smokers.

The decision on Logic, which makes up a very small percentage of the e-cigarette market, just over 1% according to retailer scanner data, underscores the urgent need to address the still pending applications of the leading e-cigarette brands such as JUUL, Vuse (Alto), blu and NJOY that make up 75% of the market and are among the most popular with youth.

While the decision to only approve tobacco-flavored Logic e-cigarettes and deny its other youth-appealing flavors is a step in the right direction, we are concerned that FDA’s action did not address menthol effectively by allowing Logic’s menthol e-cigarettes to remain on the market outside of the PMTA process. According to the latest NYTS data, nearly 30% of young people who use e-cigarettes reported using a menthol flavor. In fact, the popularity of menthol flavored e-cigarettes among youth has more than doubled since 2020 as other flavors have been withdrawn from the market. As the FDA prepares to issue a proposed rule removing menthol cigarettes from the market, we continue to urge the FDA to remove all flavored tobacco products, including menthol to protect our nation’s youth.

This action reminds us that decision delays on those e-cigarette brands with the lion’s share of the market further empowers the big, rich, tobacco companies to continue to grow their business and profits on the backs of young people, putting millions at risk for a lifetime of nicotine addiction.