SILVER SPRING, Md. — Government advisers dealt a blow Thursday to Philip Morris International’s hopes to sell its heat-not-burn device in the United States as a less-harmful alternative to cigarettes.
The pen-like device heats Marlboro-branded sticks of tobacco but stops short of burning them. It is already sold in more than 30 countries, and Philip Morris aims to make it the first “reduced risk” tobacco product ever sanctioned by the U.S.
When you’re addicted to cigarettes, you’re not only addicted to nicotine. You’re also addicted to the act of smoking. That’s why transdermal nicotine patches and vaping don’t work for everyone. This product comes closer to the smoking experience without using combustion, thus avoiding the witches brew of chemicals generated by burning. If it allows some people to move off of traditional cigarettes, that’s a good thing, and FDA should cut Philip Morris a break. We need more alternatives.