U.S. Judge Paul Grimm ordered the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin reviewing all vaping products in the U.S. market, siding with public health groups suing the agency.
The FDA gained authority to regulate the products in 2016. Under former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb, the agency said it would not require e-cigarette manufacturers to submit their products for review until 2022. Shortly before stepping down, Gottlieb moved the deadline up to 2021.
But Grimm’s ruling calls for both the health groups and the FDA to submit plans for moving forward with product reviews within 30 days.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and other groups filed the federal lawsuit in Maryland last year. The groups said the lack of FDA oversight has led to an an underage vaping epidemic.
“It is now the FDA’s responsibility to take immediate action to protect our kids and require manufacturers to apply to the FDA if they want to keep their products on the market,” the groups said in a statement.
FDA spokesman Michael Felberbaum told CNBC that the agency is reviewing the court decision and “will continue to tackle the troubling epidemic of e-cigarette use among kids.” The agency will have the option of appealing the decision.
