Philip Morris has filed a lawsuit demanding that the Korean government disclose information about its research on harmful substances in alternative tobacco products, reports the Yonhap News Agency.
In June, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said five cancer-causing substances were found in heat-not-burn tobacco products sold in the local market, with the level of tar detected in some of them exceeding that of conventional cigarettes.
The ministry made the announcement after looking into Philip Morris’ IQOS, British American Tobacco’s Glo and KT&G’s Lil.
Philip Morris filed the case after the ministry declined its request to provide relevant information on its research results, including the method of analysis and the experimental data.
The company claims that its new tobacco product provides lower levels of harmful compounds than conventional ones and that measurement of tar is an inappropriate standard to analyze the health impact of the new heat-not-burn products.
Philip Morris Korea has sold 1.9 million units of IQOS as of May since its launch a year earlier, and 1 million South Korean smokers are estimated to have switched to the smoke-free product during the cited period, according to the company.
KT&G has reportedly sold more than 850,000 units of Lil since the product’s launch in November. The company is set to open a “flagship store” for the heated tobacco product in southern Seoul.
Details demanded
