(Reuters)

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Tuesday (July 5) it has temporarily stayed the marketing denial order on Juul Labs Inc’s e-cigarettes, allowing the products to stay on the market while it appeals the regulator’s ban.

Sales of e-cigarettes by Juul, partly owned by tobacco giant Altria Group Inc, were blocked by the US FDA on June 23.

However, a day later, a US federal appeals court put on hold the regulator’s ban after the company appealed the health agency’s order, saying the move would cause it “irreparable harm”.

The temporary freeze on the FDA order lasts at least until July 12, according to the court’s scheduling order.

In a series of tweets late on Tuesday, the drug regulator said: “The agency has determined that there are scientific issues unique to the Juul application that warrant additional review.”

The administrative stay temporarily suspends the order during the additional review but doesn’t rescind it, the FDA also said.

Juul did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.