FDA panel split over smokeless tobacco warnings

An FDA advisory panel voted on claims put forward by Swedish Match, a smokeless tobacco manufacturer, on Friday, Time reports.

The company wants to do away with warning labels on its smokeless tobacco product snus, arguing that snus presents "substantially lower risks to health than cigarettes." The committee split on the question of whether using smokeless tobacco products really is substantially safer than smoking cigarettes; Swedish Match's argument is effectively one of harm reduction, suggesting that the lower level of nicotine in snus provides a relatively safer experience for those who choose to use a tobacco product.

The committee agreed, though, against doing away with Swedish Match's warning label, saying the claims the company put forward do not prove that the product does not pose any health risks.

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The FDA does not necessarily have to adopt the advisory committee's findings, but it will use them as a recommendation.