Nearly Half of Alto Users Quit Smoking: Study

Nearly 45 percent of participants who use Vuse Alto in a study completely switched away from cigarettes, according to the interim results of research conducted by Reynolds American Inc. (RAI).

The proportion of Vuse users who reported completely switching was higher for young adults aged 21–29 versus those who were 30 years or older; the proportion of Vuse users who reported completely switching was higher among minority demographics versus those who identified as non-Hispanic white; and the proportion of Vuse users who reported completely switching was higher among those who use menthol-flavored Vuse products versus those who use tobacco-flavored Vuse products.

For adults who smoke and had yet to switch completely, there was a greater reduction in cigarettes smoked per day for participants who used menthol-flavored Vuse products than those who used tobacco-flavored Vuse products.

The findings are part of a 24-month study, termed the Longitudinal Tobacco Use and Transitions Survey (LTTS), in support of RAI’s premarket tobacco product application for Vuse Alto.

Reynolds presented a summary of the interim results through the first year of the LTTS at the Food and Drug Law Institute Tobacco and Nicotine Regulatory Product Science Symposium on March 30, 2023, to an audience that included senior officials from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products as well as several prominent public health researchers.

James Murphy, global director of research and science, and Chris Junker, vice president of science and regulatory affairs, provided an overview of the study’s importance and interim results in a video.

In early October, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued marketing denial orders (MDO) for six flavored Vuse Alto-branded products. At the request of Reynolds, an appeals court stayed the order, allowing Reynolds to continue offering Vuse Alto menthol products pending review of the company’s formal challenge of the order.