In Israel, Philip Morris seems to have done a good job in imposing his new “IQOS” heated tobacco system. If at the beginning of January, the head of public health of the country had declared that " The current law could be immediately applied to IQOS Today, that no longer seems to be the case. In the space of a few weeks, the new product from Philip Morris thus obtained the benefit of the doubt ...
HAZARDOUS POLICY AROUND THE NEW PRODUCT OF PHILLIP MORRIS
But what happened between the month of January and the month of March in Israel? This is the current question with the treatment of the famous IQOS heated tobacco system by Philip Morris. Because we must be clear, the policy of the Ministry of Health on this issue is far from consistent. A month and a half ago, during a hearing in the Knesset, the Professor Itamar GrottoHead of Public Health said that the Ministry of Health regarded IQOS as a tobacco product. According to him, " The current law could be immediately applied to this product"
A little later, in response to an article by TheMarker on the subject, the department said it “ supported the classification of the product as a tobacco product, that tobacco regulations should apply and that a tax should be paid"
But in a few weeks, the talk has changed completely, Philip Morris's heated tobacco is sold over-the-counter in Israel and the ministry says " want to wait for the FDA to take a stand on the subject"
IQOS FOR FREE SALE WAITING FDA DECISION
So what happened between January and last week? What prompted the department to change its policy on the subject in this way?
According to senior legal authorities, the regulations, taxes and restrictions that apply to conventional cigarettes should apply to IQOS. In a letter to Deputy Attorney General Raz Nizri a month ago, the legal adviser of the Ministry of Health, Mira Hibner-Harel, stated that the IQOS was " very similar to an ordinary cigarette in its composition, what justifies its regulation is the exposure to nicotine, the harmful impact on the health of the smoker's entourage and the counter-productivity on efforts to curb the smoking. »
The Minister of Health, Yaakov Litzman therefore declared waiting for a decision from the US Food and Drug Administration. In the meantime, no restrictions will be imposed on IQOS in Israel which implicitly authorizes its sale to everyone even to children. The Minister says he made his decision not to classify IQOS as a tobacco product because the FDA has not yet ruled on the issue which is false. In the United States, the IQOS system is currently banned until the FDA makes a decision.
It therefore seems that the approach of the Israeli Ministry of Health is the opposite of what is done in the United States: We first sell the product at all costs and then we regulate thereafter.
