The FDA said it authorized four menthol e-cigarettes from Njoy, the vaping brand recently acquired by tobacco giant Altria<\/a>, which also sells Marlboro cigarettes.<\/p>\n NJOY via AP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The decision lends new credibility to vaping companies\u2019 longstanding claim that their\u00a0products can help blunt the toll of smoking<\/a>, which is blamed for 480,000 U.S. deaths annually due to cancer, lung disease and heart disease.<\/p>\n Parent groups and anti-tobacco advocates immediately criticized the decision, which comes after years of pushing regulators to keep menthol and\u00a0other flavors that can appeal to teens<\/a>\u00a0off the market.<\/p>\n \u201cThis decision could mean we\u2019ll never be able to close the Pandora\u2019s box of the youth vaping epidemic,\u201d said Meredith<\/a> Berkman, co-founder of Parents Against Vaping E-cigarettes. \u201cFDA has once again failed American families by allowing a predatory industry to source its next generation of lifetime customers \u2014 America\u2019s children.\u201d<\/p>\n Youth vaping has declined from all-time highs in recent years, with about 10% of high schoolers reporting e-cigarette use last year. Of those who vaped, 90% used flavors, including menthol.<\/p>\n All the e-cigarettes previously authorized by the FDA have been tobacco, which isn\u2019t widely used by young people who vape.<\/p>\n Njoy is one of only three companies that previously received FDA\u2019s OK for vaping products. Like those products, the menthol varieties come as cartridges that plug into a reusable device that heats liquid nicotine, turning it into an inhalable aerosol.<\/p>\n Njoy\u2019s products accounted for less than 3% of U.S. e-cigarette sales in the past year, according to retail data from Nielsen. Vuse, owned by Reynolds American, and Juul control about 60% of the market, while hundreds of\u00a0disposable brands<\/a>\u00a0account for the rest.<\/p>\n Most teens who vape use disposable e-cigarettes, including brands like\u00a0Elf Bar<\/a>, which come in flavors such as watermelon and blueberry ice.<\/p>\n Altria\u2019s data showed Njoy e-cigarettes helped smokers reduce their exposure to the harmful chemicals in traditional cigarettes, the FDA said. The agency stressed the products are neither safe nor \u201cFDA approved,\u201d and that people who don\u2019t smoke shouldn\u2019t use them.<\/p>\n Friday\u2019s action is part of a sweeping FDA review intended to bring scientific scrutiny to the multibillion-dollar vaping market after years of regulatory delays. Currently the U.S. market includes thousands of fruit- and candy-flavored vapes that are technically illegal but are widely available in convenience stores, gas stations and vape shops.<\/p>\n The FDA faced a self-imposed court deadline at the end of this month to wrap up its yearslong review of major vaping brands, including Juul and Vuse.<\/p>\n Those brands have been sold in the U.S. for years, awaiting FDA action on their scientific applications. To stay on the market, companies must show that their e-cigarettes provide an overall health benefit for smokers, without significantly appealing to kids.<\/p>\n \u201cBased upon our rigorous scientific review, in this instance, the strength of evidence of benefits to adult smokers from completely switching to a less harmful product was sufficient to outweigh the risks to youth,\u201d said Matthew Farrelly of FDA\u2019s Center for Tobacco Products.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/AP24173591571580-e1718995767447.jpg?w=1440&q=75\"\/)