FDA Eliminates A Tint Of Tobacco Made By Phillip Morris In Search Of "Not Burning" Heat Sound

The Food and Drug Administration has authorized the sale of tobacco giant Phillip Morris International (PMI) and its sister company Altria, the "iQOS Dry Tobacco Spray", "Heat Not Burn", announced Tuesday a major victory for Bloomberg Big Tobacco all evidence that it is safer than traditional cigarettes.

The iQOS is essentially a tobacco stick in a device similar to Juul, but larger, which heats and releases nicotine-laden vapors when it is used. It is manufactured by PMI, one of the largest cigarette manufacturers in the world, and will be marketed and sold in the United States by Altria, one of the largest cigarette manufacturers in the world, which recently took a massive stake of 13 billion dollars in Juul.

According to Bloomberg, the FDA wrote in a press release that she "had determined that the authorization of these products for the US market was appropriate for the protection of public health because, among several key considerations, the products produce lower or lower levels of toxins The New York Times added that, according to the FDA, the device would not appeal to young people (good thing, Altria also owns 35% of the capital of Juul!) and that it would subject to the same rules as cigarettes A separate decision to allow companies to market the device as less harmful than regular cigarettes is still pending.

"The FDA's decision to authorize the iQOS in the United States represents a significant step forward for the approximately 40 million American men and women who smoke," said the director general of the United States. PMI, Andre Calantzopoulos, who oversees one of the largest cigarette manufacturers in the world. has no incentive to encourage people to stop using nicotine, said the Times. "Some will leave. Most will not, and for them, iQOS offers a smoke-free alternative to the pursuit of smoking. "

PMI claims on its website that, since iQOS technically does not burn tobacco, it simply heats it: "levels of harmful chemicals are drastically reduced compared to cigarette smoke". As recently reported Gizmodo, the independent review of these claims has not been encouraging:

According to a study that attempted to verify the safety assertions of PMI, 56 harmful or potentially harmful components (HPHC) were tested more effectively in iQOS than traditional cigarettes, some astronomically. Dr. Stanton Glantz, director of the Center for Tobacco Research and Control, also wrote that "iQOS is" as likely as smoking "and" generates significant lung damage ".

Incredibly, PMI has launched a life insurance product called Reviti and is promoting it with half promise rewards for policyholders who quit smoking, but with 25% off for those who stay with iQOS for three months or more. (Those who use other anti-smoking products will benefit from a 2.5% reduction.)

This could be interpreted as a cynical attempt to sell dubious life insurance to people who die of PMI tobacco products while encouraging them to switch to another PMI tobacco product. But a spokesman for the company told Gizmodo: "Reviti was launched because we believe there is currently a gap in the life insurance market for people who smoke and want to stop smoking completely. and take nicotine or scientifically go for reduced risk alternatives. smoking."

As CNN noted, less than a month ago, former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, who had been trying to aggressively curb the tobacco and vaping industries, had left the agency. It was feared that the agency would bend under the arm. The York Times described it as primarily motivated by "some Republicans in Congress" and a "coalition of influential conservative groups." Although Gottlieb accepted the idea that some vaping products may be tools for smoking cessation or reducing risk for adults, last month Barron reported that his departure was seen as a good sign for the future. iQOS rating.

Anti-advocacy smoker groups are not happy with the FDA's decision, to put it lightly.

"Inhaling chemicals and toxins in the lungs is still a risk," Erika Sward, vice president of the American Lung Association, told the Times. "The lungs are on the front line and have shown the immediate results of exposure to chemicals, whether in the workplace, using tobacco products or polluting the outside air."

"Those who oppose it will rightly say that it is not safe," the former head of the Centers for Disease Control and tobacco expert Michael Eriksen told the Washington Post. "People on the other side will point out that it's less harmful than smoking and that it could be a good alternative. The bottom line is whether these devices actually encourage people to stop smoking … If Americans ended up using such devices in addition to smoking, it would have been better for them never to have bought them. "

[Bloomberg]