FDA cracks down on Juul marketing

The FDA sends a warning letter to Juul Labs (JUUL) on the sale and distribution of modified risk tobacco products.

The agency says Juul illegally promoted its e-cigarettes as less harmful than cigarettes and orders the company to correct the marketing practices.

“Regardless of where products like e-cigarettes fall on the continuum of tobacco product risk, the law is clear that, before marketing tobacco products for reduced risk, companies must demonstrate with scientific evidence that their specific product does in fact pose less risk or is less harmful,” notes Acting FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless in the missive.

Some sort of action by the FDA was widely anticipated for this week. Shares of Altria (MO +0.4%) are holding up fine.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3497979-fda-cracks-juul-marketing