Test for novel tobacco device

Published Jan 23, 2018

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INTERNATIONAL - In a decision expected to test the Trump administration’s approach to tobacco regulation, US health advisers will vote this week on whether to allow Philip Morris International to sell its novel iQOS tobacco device and claim it is less harmful than cigarettes. 

The sleekly packaged little tube would not look out of place in an Apple store. 

It is designed to heat tobacco, but not burn it. Most of the harmful chemicals in tobacco are released when tobacco is burned. 

The advisers to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will discuss the product tomorrow and Thursday and recommend whether it should be cleared. The FDA is not obliged to follow the recommendations of its outside advisers. 

If cleared, iQOS would become the first product to carry a modified-risk claim. 

- REUTERS

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