Philip Morris International, the world's largest tobacco company, intends to re-launch its heat-not-burn product "IQOS" in the United States, which has attracted widespread attention from US health organizations, which have expressed serious concerns about the potential harm of e-cigarettes and called on regulators to carefully approve them.
Six health organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Lung Association, and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, have submitted a letter of protest to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), expressing concerns about the re-listing of IQOS e-cigarettes.
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These organizations pointed out that although Philip Morris International claims that IQOS helps people quit smoking, existing evidence shows that the product is not as effective as advertised in helping people quit smoking.
The protest letter mentioned that Philip Morris International Tobacco Company had repeatedly issued statements that could mislead the public, making people mistakenly believe that the FDA has confirmed that IQOS can reduce the risk of disease; plus the IQOS product implies that it is less harmful than traditional cigarettes, which violates the relevant FDA regulations; in addition, these health organizations also pointed out that Philip Morris International Tobacco Company's statement that IQOS can prompt a large number of traditional smokers to switch to e-cigarette users lacks factual basis. They cited research data from the International Tobacco Control Project (ITC) of the University of Waterloo in Canada, showing that the smoking cessation rates of IQOS users in South Korea and Japan are 30% and 15% respectively, far lower than the 70% claimed by Philip Morris International Tobacco Company.
In response, Philip Morris International Tobacco Company responded that the company always abides by relevant laws and regulations when discussing science and products, and insisted that its statements are in line with FDA orders.
The FDA approved Philip Morris International Tobacco Company to sell the old version of IQOS in 2019, but then issued a "risk modification" order requiring the company to improve its products to reduce the emission of hazardous chemicals. Last year, Philip Morris International Tobacco Company applied to launch the latest and improved IQOS model, but the FDA has not yet made a decision on whether to approve it for marketing.
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