The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new heat-not-burn tobacco device called IQOS from Philip Morris, clearing a path for the tobacco giant to compete in the market for alternatives to traditional cigarettes.
“While the authorization of new tobacco products doesn’t mean they are safe, the review process makes certain that the marketing of the products is appropriate for the protection of the public health, taking into account the risks and benefits to the population as a whole,” Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, said Tuesday.
While the FDA approved Philip Morris’ premarket tobacco application, it did not approve an application to market the devices as less harmful smoking alternatives.
The FDA approved the IQOS device as well as the tobacco sticks it heats up: Marlboro Heatsticks, Marlboro Smooth Menthol Heatsticks, and Marlboro Fresh Menthol Heatsticks, all of which qualify as tobacco products under FDA authority.
While other smokeless tobacco products heat a liquid with nicotine to produce vapor, IQOS uses real tobacco that is heated rather than burned. The device produces a tobacco-flavored vapor that the company says is much less harmful than a combustible cigarette.
Altria, the parent company of Philip Morris USA, bought a 35% share in the e-cigarette maker Juul in December. IQOS, though, is meant to be Juul’s competitor. The product is already sold abroad by Philip Morris International, a separate company that has licensed IQOS to Philip Morris USA.
Meanwhile, the FDA has been undertaking a crackdown on certain kinds of e-cigarettes and vaping marketing in order to curb youth vaping.
