THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

‘Heated tobacco’ products aren’t e-cigarettes, says maker

‘Heated tobacco’ products aren’t e-cigarettes, says maker

Tobacco manufacturer Philip Morris International (PMI) insists that its “heated tobacco” product is different from e-cigarettes.

Thai law prohibits e-cigarettes being sold here or brought in. A recent petition on chang.org sought a review of the ban and urged that the e-cigarette be reclassified a “controlled product”.
Media reports have queried whether PMI’s heated-tobacco product is an e-cigarette.
Philip Morris (Thailand) managing director Gerald Margolis said on Friday that its product heats tobacco well below the point of combustion, rather than burning the tobacco.
“This is different from e-cigarettes, which generate nicotine-containing aerosols by heating a liquid without using tobacco leaves,” he said in a press release.
He added that many smokers find it difficult to quit, so it was “important” for them to have access to less harmful alternatives.
In December 2016, PMI submitted a Modified Risk Tobacco Product application to the US Food and Drug Administration and it was accepted, triggering a scientific review at the agency’s Centre for Tobacco Products.
Britain’s Committee on Toxicity recently issued a press release describing the core findings of a review on heated tobacco products.
It concluded that, while still harmful to health, heated-tobacco products are likely to be less risky than smoking conventional cigarettes.
“Our vision on ‘designing a smoke-free future’ is to replace cigarettes with non-combustible products as soon as possible,” Margolis said.

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