Sean Hannity Responds to Juul Ban: “They Can Come and Arrest Me”
Does Sean Hannity vape? The Fox News host has been spotted with e-cigarettes on air multiple times, and now he’s showing his devotion to Juul.
July 4 2022, Published 8:30 a.m. ET
After two widely-shared moments of unintentional on-camera vaping, longtime Fox News host Sean Hannity now seems to have no problem admitting that, yes, he does vape.
In fact, the Hannity anchor defiantly said in a recent broadcast that he would vape from a Juul e-cigarette live on-air if the FDA ordered the product to be taken off the U.S. market.
Sean Hannity was caught vaping on camera in 2017 and 2021.
In 2017, The Simpsons voice actor Harry Shearer tweeted a video of Hannity vaping on the set of Hannity after introducing a video package. It isn't clear how Shearer obtained the footage, but he posted it on Twitter with the caption, “Here are 40 seconds you’ll never get back…”
Hannity replied to that tweet, writing, “LOL. It’s NOT real.”
As Death and Taxes pointed out at the time, the e-cigarette on which Hannity puffs in the clip seems to be an NJOY King e-ciagrette. And Hannity even plugged NJOY in his rebuttal tweet. “NJOY has advertised on my radio show,” he wrote. “I don’t smoke cigars anymore.”
Then in March 2021, Hannity had what appeared to be a Juul e-cigarette in his mouth when his Fox News show returned from a commercial break. After realizing that he was back on air, Hannity yanked the e-cigarette from his mouth and said, “Uh-oh.”
As Hannity segued into The Ingraham Angle that evening, Hannity’s Fox News colleague Laura Ingraham referenced his gaffe, pretending not to realize she was on the air as she took a sip of water.
“It happens to the best of us, Hannity,” she added, per The Hill. “I mean, those little moments are cute. Those are in the forever reel of the real Hannity. We wanna know you!”
“Enjoy it, everybody, at my expense,” Hannity replied.
Hannity said he would vape on live TV if the FDA banned Juul.
On the June 22 episode of Hannity, the 60-year-old responded to reports that the FDA was planning to order Juul Labs to remove its products from the U.S. market.
“They ban it and I’ll do it live on TV and they can come and arrest me,” he said at the end of the segment, waving what looks to be a Juul e-cigarette.
And on June 23, the following day, the FDA announced its marketing denial order against Juul Labs, with FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D., commenting on the ban in a news release.
“Today’s action is further progress on the FDA’s commitment to ensuring that all e-cigarette and electronic nicotine delivery system products currently being marketed to consumers meet our public health standards,” Califf said. “The agency has dedicated significant resources to review products from the companies that account for most of the U.S. market. We recognize these make up a significant part of the available products and many have played a disproportionate role in the rise in youth vaping.”
One day later, on June 24, the Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals granted an emergency request for a temporary stay of the marketing denial order, which Juul Labs is seeking to extend, CNBC reports.