British American Tobacco (BAT) has published a new study in Food and Chemical Toxicology showing that modern oral products (MOPs) elicit lower toxicity responses than traditional tobacco products.
Velo, one of BAT’s nicotine pouch products, was compared with a traditional cigarette as well as a Swedish-style snus pouch and found to be “less biologically active than cigarette smoke and snus, even at greater concentrations of nicotine, across a range of tests,” according to a company press release. “In many cases, Velo failed to elicit a biological response at all, supporting the view that MOPs are likely to be less risky than traditional cigarettes and Swedish-style snus for users who switch completely.”
“Velo was found to be less biologically active than cigarette smoke in certain assays, which is very encouraging,” said Emma Cheung, a preclinical scientist at BAT, in a statement. “This study helps to support the reduced-risk potential of MOPs. Our scientists will continue to build evidence to support our new category products.”