WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time, U.S. health regulators have judged a type of smokeless tobacco to be less harmful than cigarettes, a decision that could open the door to other less risky options for smokers.
The milestone announcement on Tuesday makes Swedish Match tobacco pouches the first so-called reduced-risk tobacco product ever sanctioned by the Food and Drug Administration.
FDA regulators stressed that their decision does not mean the pouches are safe, just less harmful, and that all tobacco products pose risks. The pouches will still bear mandatory government warnings that they can cause mouth cancer, gum disease, and tooth loss.
However, the company will be able to advertise its tobacco pouches as posing a lower risk of lung cancer, bronchitis, heart disease, and other diseases than cigarettes.
The pouches of ground tobacco, called snus — Swedish for snuff and pronounced “snooze” — have been popular in Scandinavian countries for decades but are a tiny part of the U.S. tobacco market.
