The United States Food and Drug Administration on July 7 authorized the marketing of IQOS Tobacco Heating System as modified risk tobacco product. Developed by Phillip Morris International, IQOS works by heating tobacco to produce an aerosol, which is markedly different from ordinary cigarettes and other tobacco products because it works by heating, rather than burning, tobacco. On the taxation front, for example, the policymakers have continued to treat the alternative and increasingly admittedly alternatives like they do the harmful tobacco products. The authorities set also different tax rate for the different tobacco product category. The FDA’s decision is significant, and the IQOS can be marketed as a modified risk tobacco product in the US, but in markets like Kenya, policymakers will need to start thinking about innovative market-specific ways to get better options for tobacco users.

Source: The Star July 23, 2020 13:52 UTC