FDA panel rejects some claims for 'heat-not-burn' tobacco device

Controversial "heat-not-burn" tobacco devices might only get limited marketing in the United States, based on recommendations issued Thursday by an influential government panel.

These devices are different than e-cigarettes, in that instead of heating a nicotine-infused liquid, they warm up tobacco to about 500 degrees Fahrenheit, producing an inhalable aerosol.

A panel of advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been examining an application from tobacco giant Phillip Morris to market such a device, called iQOS, in the United States. The device is already sold in 30 countries.

However, on Thursday the FDA panel rejected Philip Morris' proposal that it market iQOS as a lower-risk alternative to cigarettes -- one that would cut a user's risk for disease compared to "regular" smoking. But in another decision, the panel said it would endorse a second claim -- that iQOS exposes users to lower levels of toxic chemicals compared to cigarettes.

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