WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration is allowing vaping brand Juul to keep its e-cigarettes on the market, providing relief to a company that has struggled for years after being widely blamed for sparking the teen vaping trend.

FDA regulators said Thursday that Juul’s studies show its e-cigarettes are less harmful for adult smokers, who can benefit from switching to vaping.

The FDA decision applies to tobacco- and menthol-flavored versions of the reusable product, which works with nicotine-filled cartridges sold in two strengths. Juul previously discontinued several fruit and candy flavors that helped drive its popularity but were favored by teens.

Juul will be one of only two U.S. companies authorized to sell menthol-flavored vapes.

“This is an important milestone for the company,” Juul CEO K.C. Crosthwaite said.

Parents, politicians and anti-tobacco groups have argued for years that Juul should be banned from selling its products because of its role in triggering a yearslong spike in underage vaping.

Juul, launched in 2015 by two Stanford University students, was once valued at over $13 billion and its e-cigarettes revolutionized the image and technology of the vaping industry. But the company has since been forced to slash hundreds of jobs and pay billions to settle lawsuits over its role in the rise of youth vaping.

The FDA had ordered the company to remove its products from the market in June 2022. But then the agency reversed course days later and agreed to reopen its scientific review of Juul’s application after the company pushed back in court.