08:53 AM EDT, 07/16/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with Philip Morris' ( PM ) response in last two paragraphs.)

Philip Morris International's ( PM ) IQOS products continue to face opposition in the US, with six health and anti-tobacco groups recently campaigning against the US Food and Drug Administration's approval of the company's latest applications.

The campaign group, including the American Lung Association, American Heart Association, and American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, wrote to the FDA last month, urging the regulator to consider "various developments" before approving Philip Morris' ( PM ) application for the renewal of its exposure modification order for the IQOS 3 device and premarket authorization of ILUMA, the next-generation IQOS product.

The group said recent independent studies of IQOS in other countries failed to demonstrate the product's population-wide public health benefit, and Philip Morris ( PM ) has issued "misleading and deceptive statements" implying that the FDA determined that IQOS reduces the risk of disease.

The group also said the FDA's support for banning menthol cigarettes contradicts its approval of menthol-flavored IQOS products.

Philip Morris International ( PM ) said it regularly engages with regulators around the world to review and discuss scientific research on smoke-free products.

"Given the high esteem in which the US Food and Drug Administration is held, we are often asked to discuss the agency's conclusions on IQOS," the company said in a statement. "We are proud to do so and will continue to wherever we are asked to discuss."

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