EU authorizes the sale of Iqos, heated tobacco machine

Heated tobacco devices will begin to be sold in the United States, including Iqos, developed by Philip Morris. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of this country has authorized the marketing of the article after two years of examination and badysis.

The FDA determined that the product was appropriate for the protection of public health, especially because of the absence of tobacco combustion, the exposure to toxic substances being very low.

In fact, with respect to carbon monoxide, the regulator has determined that the exposure is similar to what would normally occur in the environment, while other toxic substances, such as acrolein and Formaldehyde, present in tobacco smoke, confirmed: levels with Iqos are respectively 89% to 95% lower and 66% to 91% lower than traditional cigars.

In any event, he said, these elements must comply with the rules in force concerning cigarettes, including the ban on advertising on radio and television, as well as the packaging of messages. writings and pictures of the risk incurred by their use. consumption, such as nicotine addiction.

The device is part of the new generation of tobacco products, with which the company targets smokers who continue to consume cigarettes despite all the strategies that favor their abandonment because of the damage they cause to health.

The electronic device, which is already sold in more than 30 countries, heats tobacco sticks wrapped in paper that produces an aerosol containing nicotine. According to the FDA's opinion, this is the option for adult smokers.

In Mexico, it is waiting for the Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks (Cofepris) to issue an opinion or guidelines for the evaluation and eventual authorization of the device.

In his view, the FDA has set restrictions to prevent teens from gaining access to the product because people who have never smoked are also at risk of falling into nicotine addiction. The regulator has urged people not to smoke even with these new devices.

He pointed out that permission to sell does not mean that they are safe because all tobacco products are potentially harmful and addictive. He also did not grant the modified risk product category, as Philip Morris asked. The respective badessment is ongoing, the FDA said.

The manufacturer must comply with a series of requirements included in the device's sales authorization, including a mechanism for oversight market dynamics including the indicator of non-access of adolescents. The FDA will maintain close vigilance in the outlets, as well as in the marketing strategy, which should exclude minors.

Acting on Philip Morris' request to promote Iqos as a modified risk product, the FDA said it was badessing the risk and benefit indicators for the population, including the ingredients. and the additives used in its manufacture. It also examines the likelihood that smokers will increase or quit smoking and that non-smokers enter the business with new devices.