By Timothy S. Donahue

Top Takeaways:

• Information surfaced on Dec. 20 suggesting that Glas may be about to receive FDA marketing authorization, though no formal confirmation has been issued.
• At the same time, the USITC opened a patent investigation into Glas following a complaint by Juul Labs and VMR Products.
• The timing has raised questions about whether the pending lawsuit could be affecting the public release of any FDA authorization.

Information surfaced on Dec. 20 indicating that Los Angeles–based e-cigarette company Glas may be about to receive marketing granted orders (MGOs) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, though the agency has not issued a formal announcement and the products do not yet appear in its searchable authorized products database.

A screenshot circulating on social media showed one Glas device and five associated pods listed on what appeared to be an FDA e-cigarette authorization document dated December 2025. It was first reported by nicotine industry attorney Gregory Conley on his X profile (@GregTHR).

Subsequent checks of FDA-hosted materials revealed signs of a December update in the agency’s web infrastructure, including file references consistent with an authorized e-cigarette list.

However, several associated file links were inaccessible or returned “Page Not Found” errors, and the update has not been formally published through the agency’s standard public channels. Those links now seem to have been removed.

The FDA recently posted a note on its webpage listing authorized vaping products, acknowledging that a post had been made and then removed.

“This list is up-to-date as of December 22, 2025. There are 39 e-cigarettes authorized by the FDA. These are the only e-cigarettes that may be lawfully sold in the United States. On 12/20/25, FDA experienced a related web error that did not change this list but was corrected the same day,” the agency states.

As of publication, the FDA’s searchable database shows the most recent authorizations were granted to Juul Labs in July 2025. The FDA has not publicly commented on the status of any Glas applications or on the appearance of Glas-related entries in FDA-hosted files.

The absence of a formal FDA announcement has drawn attention from the vaping industry, particularly because the emergence of apparent authorization materials coincides with a newly instituted patent investigation involving Glas at the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC).

According to a notice issued by the USITC, the Commission has instituted a Section 337 investigation following a complaint filed by Juul Labs and VMR Products. The complaint, originally filed on Sept. 30, 2025, and supplemented in November and December, alleges infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 11,134,722 and 11,606,981 by importing, selling for importation, and selling within the United States certain vaporizer devices, cartridges, and related components.

The investigation covers electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), including devices, pods, cartridge housings, atomizers, atomizer subassemblies, and device subassemblies. The named respondents are Glas, Inc., and Glas, LLC, both based in Los Angeles. Juul and VMR, based in Washington, D.C., are seeking a limited exclusion order barring the importation of the accused products, as well as cease-and-desist orders prohibiting their sale in the United States.

The USITC stated that its Office of Unfair Import Investigations will not participate as a party in the case. Section 337 investigations determine whether unfair acts in importation, including patent infringement, have occurred. If a violation is found, the Commission may issue exclusion orders and other remedies without federal court proceedings.

The proximity of the two developments—the appearance of materials claiming FDA authorization and the initiation of a patent investigation targeting Glas products—has prompted industry observers to question whether the ITC case could be affecting the timing or public release of any FDA marketing authorization. Several industry attorneys told Nicotine Insider that this was a possibility.

There is no public indication that FDA premarket tobacco product applications (PMTA) decisions are legally contingent on parallel patent disputes, and the FDA has not suggested that litigation affects whether or when marketing granted orders are announced. However, the absence of a formal FDA update, despite apparent backend documentation, has raised questions about whether administrative, technical, or external factors may be delaying publication.

If Glas were ultimately confirmed as authorized, it would mark the first new FDA-authorized e-cigarette brand since Juul and signal renewed momentum in the long-stalled PMTA process for e-cigarettes and vaping products. Until that confirmation occurs, however, Glas products remain unauthorized for legal commercial sale under FDA rules, regardless of parallel proceedings at the USITC.

For now, the relationship—if any—between the FDA’s apparent internal update and the ITC patent investigation remains unclear. Both agencies operate independently, and neither has publicly commented on whether the two matters intersect.