Philip Morris has filed not one, but two PMTA applications seeking approval according to Madison.com, he is trying to approve his IQOS heat-not-burn device, and it is to be marketed as the HeatStick. The fist application seeks to establish that the HeatStick is less harmful than combustible cigarettes; the second application seeks to prove no such claim.

Madison.com pointed out, and as vapor industry experts have long predicted:

“The onerous regulatory process ensure that only the biggest, most financially sound manufacturers will be able to comply with the process, and it would give Philip Morris a massive competitive advantage if it’s able to claim its product is safer for smokers to use”