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(FOX 2) - The Juul makes up 70% of the e-cigarette market in the country. The brand is filled with nicotine, and now the government is blasting the vaping giant - saying they may have helped fuel the public health crisis.
It's a big warning from the government to the top selling vape company.
The Food and Drug Administration sent a letter to Juul, ordering it to stop making false statements about the safety of its products. The agency accused Juul of illegally marketing its products as a safer alternative to smoking.
Federal law already bans retailers from selling e-cigarettes to youth under 18, but a recent spike in underage vaping prompted the added scrutiny.
This, coming days after Michigan became the first state to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes to all ages, which includes Juul and other brands.
"Bubble gum, fruit loops; these are flavors that are geared towards kids," Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said. "They say your parents will never know, because they plug in like a USB. This is deceptive; this is destructive, and most importantly it's compromising our kids' health."
Gov. Whitmer's goal is to slow down teen vaping.
"We're going to cut off access for a lot of kids, so that they're not in a position where they're getting addicted to a substance that they don't even know what the long-term ramifications are," she said.
Some see it as a controversial move, others see it as a step in the right direction - like New York governor Andrew Cuomo, calling on lawmakers to consider a ban on the popular products.
"Common sense says if you don't know what you are smoking, don't smoke it," he said.
If you know teenagers, you know that regulations aren't enough to keep teens from vaping.
"People still, you know, decide to keep vaping regardless of new health reports coming out," a student from the University of Delaware, Justin Silberlust, offered.
So what happens next?
A Juul spokesman telling the Associated Press they will "fully cooperate" with the FDA. The company has 15 days to provide a written response outlining its plan to fix the violations, and then 30 days to turn over any requested documents - including marketing and nicotine formula.
At this point, several people have died and 400 people have gotten sick, all being linked to vaping.
Not one particular vaping product has been blamed as the link, but public health investigators say the research is in early stages and we have a lot to learn about the potential risks with vaping.