In doing so, the agency found that an IQOS exposure modification order is appropriate to promote public health.
The United States Food and Drug Administration has authorised the marketing of IQOS, Philip Morris International’s electrically heated tobacco system, as a modified risk tobacco product (MRTP), a report by allafrica.com, has said.
In doing so, the agency found that an IQOS exposure modification order is appropriate to promote public health.
It was stated that the decision demonstrates that IQOS is a fundamentally different tobacco product and a better choice for adults, who would otherwise continue smoking.
It is said to be the first and only electronic nicotine product to be granted marketing orders through the FDA’s MRTP process, the report revealed.
The report further stated that the product, scientific research had shown, posed almost no risk for users’ health.
Millions of users in the United States and other countries are said to have switched to this mode of smoking.
This decision follows a review of the extensive scientific evidence package PMI submitted to the FDA in December 2016 to support its MRTP applications.
Commenting on the FDA’s announcement, André Calantzopoulos, PMI’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “The FDA’s decision is a historic public health milestone. Many of the tens of millions of American men and women who smoke today will quit—but many won’t. The decision makes it possible to inform these adults that switching completely to IQOS is a better choice than continuing to smoke.
“FDA determined that scientific studies show that switching completely from conventional cigarettes to IQOS reduces exposure to harmful or potentially harmful chemicals.
“IQOS is a fundamentally different product than combustible cigarettes and must be regulated differently, as the FDA has recognised.”