FDA conducts surprise inspection of e-cigarette maker Juul as part of crackdown

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Tuesday that it had conducted a surprise inspection of e-cigarette maker Juul’s headquarters and collected more than a thousand pages of documents amid its crackdown on e-cigarettes.

“As part of FDA’s ongoing efforts to prevent youth use of tobacco products, particularly e-cigarettes, last week the agency conducted an unannounced on-site inspection of e-cigarette manufacturer JUUL Labs’ corporate headquarters,” the FDA said in a statement.

{mosads}“Across this category, we are committed to taking all necessary actions, such as inspections and advancing new policies, to prevent a new generation of kids from becoming addicted to tobacco products,” it added.

The inspection comes after FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said last month that his agency is considering banning online sales of e-cigarettes.

“The new and highly disturbing data we have on youth use demonstrates plainly that e-cigarettes are creating an epidemic of regular nicotine use among teens,” the agency said Tuesday.

It added the surprise inspection was meant to determine compliance with laws and regulations, including the collection of company records.

Juul CEO Kevin Burns said in a statement that the episode was part of a “constructive and transparent dialogue.”

“We want to be part of the solution in preventing underage use, and we believe it will take industry and regulators working together to restrict youth access,” he added.