(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the marketing of 20 Zyn products on Thursday, the first such authorization for nicotine pouches in the country.
The authorized products pose lower risk of cancer and other serious health conditions than cigarettes and most smokeless tobacco products, such as moist snuff and snus due to substantially lower amounts of harmful constituents, the agency said in a statement.
Philip Morris, which bought Zyn-parent Swedish Match in a $16 billion deal in 2022, continues to invest in increasing production for the nicotine pouches amid strong demand.
Zyn, an alternative to traditional chewing tobacco products, is a nicotine pouch which does not contain tobacco.
“The FDA’s authorization of all ZYN nicotine pouches currently marketed by Swedish Match in the U.S. is an important step to protect the public health by providing better alternatives to cigarettes and other traditional tobacco products for adults 21+,” said Tom Hayes, president of Swedish Match North America in an emailed statement to Reuters.
Shares of Philip Morris were up about 1% on Thursday.
(Reporting by Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru and Emma Rumney in London; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
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