The Trump administration has declined to block a decision by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) to remove imported NJOY Ace devices and pods from the American market.
The ITC ruled Jan. 29 that the imported Ace products infringed Juul Labs patents and can no longer be sold on the U.S. market. The Trump administration’s Office of the U.S. Trade Representative had 60 days to overrule the decision, but did not intervene.
March 31 was the last day NJOY could legally import Ace devices and pods. Retailers are allowed to sell off NJOY Ace products that were in stock before April 1, but will be unable to replenish stock after that date.
Is the NJOY Ace gone forever?
According to NJOY, the company is “working to get [Ace products] back in-market ASAP.” There is no further explanation. The ITC decision affects only imported NJOY Ace products, but NJOY—which is owned by tobacco giant Altria Group—has no domestic Ace manufacturing facilities.
Vaping industry advocate and attorney Gregory Conley said in an X (Twitter) post that Altria “has filed or will file applications with FDA to permit them to sell devices that are modified to avoid the patent claims.” That process, however, could take months or even years.
Most NJOY Ace device and pods are manufactured for NJOY under contract by Chinese vape company Smoore, and some are made in other Asian countries. The pods are filled with e-liquid manufactured in the United States.
No mass-market vaping devices are produced in the United States.
The FDA has authorized just eight vaping devices that are currently available—all produced by manufacturers now owned by three major tobacco companies: Logic (Japan Tobacco), NJOY (Altria) and Vuse (R.J. Reynolds). That number will become seven when remaining NJOY Ace stock is sold from U.S. stores.
Former partners Altria and Juul fight it out in court
Juul Labs filed the patent complaint in June 2023, asking the ITC to investigate. In a companion lawsuit filed in a federal district court, according to Law.com, Juul and its subsidiary VMR Products charged that NJOY infringed “five patents associated with 'JUULpod' cartridges.”
Two months later, Altriaretaliated with a similar complaint, charging Juul had infringed two NJOY patents. That ITC investigation was terminated in March of this year.
The Juul patent complaint was filed less than four months after Altria traded its 35 percent share in Juul, then proceeded to buy NJOY Holdings for $2.75 billion.
NJOY had already received FDA authorization for the Ace and three tobacco-flavored refill pods when the company was bought by Altria. Later, in June 2024, the FDA also authorized Ace menthol pods in two nicotine strengths—the first “flavored” vaping products authorized by the agency. (The FDA also authorized two menthol versions of the disposable cigalike device the NJOY Daily, which are not affected by the ITC order.)
Patent charges by tobacco and vape manufacturers against competitors are fairly common. In 2022, Altria was awarded $95 million from rival R.J. Reynolds after a federal jury found that Reynolds’ Vuse Alto device infringed three Altria patents.
That lawsuit was retaliation for Reynolds’ complaint against Altria regarding the IQOS heated tobacco product. In that dispute, Altria (operating under a licensing agreement with IQOS manufacturer Philip Morris International) was forced by the ITC to stop selling imported IQOS devices.
Juul Labs has also filed multiple ITC complaints and lawsuits against companies making or selling clone products and “JUUL-compatible” pods.
