For example, Imperial plans to focus on marketing closed vapour products (ie, prefilled) in the USA, open vapour products (ie, refillable) in the UK and HTPs in Germany.106 Meanwhile, Altria in the USA has marketed their HTPs, IQOS and Heatsticks within a number of US states.107 IQOS is currently the only HTP approved for sale on the US market.115 However, there is currently a lawsuit in the USA, as well as in Germany, against PMI filed by BAT.115 116 Reynolds American, the US BAT subsidiary, claims that the heating technology used in IQOS is a patent infringement and is seeking an importation ban.115 116 They claim that PMI copied patented technology developed for BAT products, including Glo, Vuse Vibe and Vuse Solo.115 116 While the cases are ongoing, PMI argues that even if they are at fault, the USA should not exclude IQOS from the market because of the potential to reduce smoking.115 116 The role of explicit harm reduction claims in transitioning smokers to other forms of nicotine delivery is yet to be determined

Nikole Hannah-Jones is a domestic correspondent for The New York Times Magazine covering racial injustice and civil rights
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