Claims on IQOS

Reporter Yonah Jeremy Bob was flown to Switzerland by Philip Morris to learn about its new tobacco product, IQOS (“The IQOS gamble,” Comment & Features, July 16). His enthusiastic coverage of the product reads more like an industry advertisement than an objective article.

The majority of the segments in the article involve direct testimony from Philip Morris, as would be expected from an industry ad. On the other hand, findings published by non-industry scientists in top medical journals are referred to as scientific “claims.”

Like traditional cigarettes, IQOS is a tobacco product. The 7,000 compounds in tobacco smoke cause damage to almost every organ of the body and contribute directly to the smoking-attributable deaths of at least half of all smokers.

In his research, Bob discovered that Philip Morris presented data from IQOS emissions on “58 out of 93 compounds compiled by four major health organizations, including the FDA.” Though he found that the company failed to report on the 35 known toxic compounds in cigarette smoke included on that list, he did not provide the names of those compounds or anything about their toxicity.

Without any possibility of verifying the truth – it is reasonable to assume that he did not have access to internal Philip Morris documents or the results of all its research; nor was there any indication of a comprehensive literature search on this topic – Bob wrote that “no studies have been done” on those chemicals.

Despite the crucial lack of information on those components and the many other chemicals that can be emitted, Bob repeatedly quoted company claims of harm reduction for IQOS. Those claims might or might not include information about thousands of chemicals that are part of the toxic brew released by burning cigarettes that could also be present in emissions from IQOS. In addition, other chemicals not found in conventional lethal combustible cigarette emissions might be present in IQOS emissions.

The Jerusalem Post should immediately publish the names of those 35 compounds, with information on their toxicity to smokers and those exposed to the smoke.

We requested that Bob ask Philip Morris about its current sales of cigarettes and profits from cigarettes in Israel and worldwide, as well as information on the amount of money it has spent advertising lethal combustible cigarettes in recent years in Israel and abroad. This is important in understanding the company’s professed commitment to a “smoke-free Israel.” If he received answers to these questions, he did not report them.

He wrote: “Where the FDA goes on this issue, Israel is likely to follow.” He wrote this knowing full well – following numerous interactions with us – that Israeli policy today is exactly the opposite of US policy.

In the US, pending an FDA decision, it is illegal to market IQOS. It is also illegal to make any claims about the relative harms of IQOS and other tobacco products. By contrast, these claims have been ubiquitous in Philip Morris-sponsored ads in the Israeli press and social media. Accurate information about US versus Israeli marketing policy should have been provided in the article.

Another important issue that should have been addressed was the addictive nature of IQOS. This is crucial and must be part of the discussion. IQOS is a carefully engineered product and could be very difficult for individuals to stop using once they have started. LAURA ROSEN HAGAI LEVINE Ramat Gan

The writers hold a PhD and an MD and MPH, respectively, and are writing as representatives of the Israel Association of Public Health Physicians.

The letters editor notes: Yonah Jeremy Bob is being given the right of reply. His response will appear in Sunday’s letters section.