Professor Manuel Peitsch, the chief scientific officer for PMI, presents the latest IQOS clinical research, during a media conference Monday.

Philip Morris International (PMI) presented the result of a clinical study on IQOS Monday, urging the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to clarify its warning against heat-not-burn cigarettes.

IQOS is the company’s heat-not-burn cigarettes brand.

The clinical study divided 1,000 smokers into two groups, regular tobacco smokers and IQOS users, and measured their physical response for six months.

As a result, those who converted to IQOS showed improvements in all eight physical indicators (major clinical risk assessment indicators) after six months, confirming the possibility of the risk reduction.

When using IQOS, total NNAL, which is the cause of cancer, fell 43.5 percent and FEV, which is the cause of respiratory disease, by 1.28 percent. Also, the study found that IQOS can reduce indexes in HDL-C, WBC Count, slCAM-1 and 11-DTX-B2, substances that cause cardiovascular disease.

Professor Manuel Peitsch, the chief scientific officer for PMI, stressed that the results showed great promise in proving that heat-not-burn cigarettes can reduce the risk of tobacco.

“This study is the first large-scale clinical trial in accessing the risk-reduction potential of heat-not-burn cigarettes,” Professor Peitsch said. “We have confirmed that IQOS significantly reduces the emission of harmful substances, decrease human exposure, and reduced adverse effects on the patients’ health.”

PMI also stressed that the recent announcement made by the Korean ministry proved that IQOS reduced toxic chemicals but failed to mention its effects on human exposure and the patient’s health.

Asked whether the short duration of the research would be enough to determine the full effect of IQOS, Professor Peitsch said that the possibility of error is slim as the company has not found any additional hazards materials in the IQOS emissions so far.

PMI has already submitted the results of the study to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Aug. 8, and plans to present their findings to the ministry as soon as possible.

Based on the results of the research, PMI urged the Korean health authorities to clarify their previous announcement.

Earlier this month, the ministry said there was no evidence to show heat-not-burn cigarettes are less harmful than regular tobaccos. The ministry added that heat-not-burn cigarettes, which the public has often perceived as being less harmful to health than ordinary tobacco, were found to have more tar than the latter, and have the same nicotine content.

"To prevent further confusion, the ministry should make it clear that heat-not-burn cigarettes have significantly reduced the harmful substances compared to regular cigarettes,” said Kim Byung-chul, executive director of Philip Morris Korea. "Smokers have the right to be provided with accurate information.”

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