Investing.com – E-cigarette company Juul Labs will no longer sell sweet and fruity e-cigarette refill pods online, news reports said Thursday.
The move comes as regulators are getting ready to pull most nicotine vaping products off the market after a surge in teen vaping. Vaping is blamed for a rise in lung diseases and a at least 31 deaths. The San Francisco company stopped selling these flavors a year ago in brick-and-mortar stores, but was still selling the pods online. Online sales have age controls but represent about 10% of the company's revenue. Juul is the leader in the e-cigarette market with a 64% share, according to The Wall Street Journal. In the first half of this year, global sales were estimated at $1.27 billion.Privately-held Juul is largely blamed for the rising teen vaping. It's under investigation by the Food and Drug Administration, the Federal Trade Commission and federal prosecutors in California.Altria (NYSE:), which holds a 35% stake in Juul, was up 1.15%.