The Vapor Technology Association is losing one of the largest e-cigarette manufacturers in the U.S. because of disagreements over policy, including whether the group should be suing the Food and Drug Administration over regulations, The Hill reported Wednesday.

Juul Labs recently informed VTA that it would not renew its membership because of a lawsuit the association recently filed against the FDA and other policy differences, according to an email to VTA members obtained by the newspaper. The lawsuit is seeking to delay FDA from enforcing its May 2020 deadline for submitting new tobacco product applications for vapor products with nicotine, with the group arguing the deadline harms smaller vaping companies.

VTA said in its email that Juul had participated in the board meeting to move ahead with the lawsuit but never objected to the decision. http://bit.ly/2TX1wo1

For its part, Juul issued a statement confirming its intention to leave VTA "as we are not aligned on too many critical policy issues." The company noted that it supports raising the minimum age to buy nicotine and tobacco products to 21 and that it also favors banning certain vaping flavors that critics of the industry say appeal to children.

"JUUL Labs will continue to focus on combating youth usage of vapor products including JUUL while preserving the historic opportunity to switch adult smokers off of combustible cigarettes," the company said. http://bit.ly/2L2AkjN

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