When Philip Morris International (PMI) reacted to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of a modified risk tobacco product marketing order for its proprietary IQOS heat-not-burn product, it heralded it as a broader public health victory. The FDA confirmed that IQOS eliminates a traditional cigarette’s burning characteristics by heating the tobacco sticks to a vapor aerosol.

This product is said to significantly reduce the production of harmful and potentially harmful chemicals adding that the company was able to demonstrate that IQOS reduces a human body’s exposure to toxic substances, [...]