Phillip Morris executives and shareholders may very well be jumping for joy as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates the sale of tobacco products in the United States, has approved the company’s IQOS device for sale in the U.S. marketplace.
While there is no shortage of restrictions on how the company can market their heat-not-burn (HNB) tobacco device, the fact of the matter is that the IQOS can now be sold in the United States.
The U.S. is not the first to approve the sale of IQOS, as the device has been available in Japan, Korea, Germany, and a number of other countries for some time now. Still, the U.S. is home to millions of tobacco smokers, all of which are potential customers for the IQOS, which, unlike traditional cigarettes, heats tobacco instead of burning it.
While similar to e-cigarettes, IQOS differentiates itself by heating tobacco, whereas e-cigarettes heat what is known as e-liquid. E-liquids can, but don’t always contain nicotine. In contrast, the tobacco sticks that the IQOS uses do contain nicotine without exception. Still, they do provide a smoke-free experience to their users, which is likely part of their consumer appeal.
While the FDA has approved the IQOS for sale in the U.S. market following what the agency has referred to as a “rigorous science-based review,” the agency has made a point to impose “stringent” marketing restrictions on it in an effort to prevent both youth access and exposure.
As for their reasoning for approving the sale of IQOS in the U.S., the FDA cited “fewer or lower levels of some toxins than combustible cigarettes.”
“Following a rigorous science-based review through the premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) pathway, the agency determined that authorizing these products for the U.S. market is appropriate for the protection of the public health because, among several key considerations, the products produce fewer or lower levels of some toxins than combustible cigarettes.”
Whether Americans will opt for heat-not-burn devices like the IQOS over e-cigarettes like Juul remains to be seen.
