The latest tobacco device approved to enter the U.S. market is intended only for current smokers who want a less risky alternative, a spokesman for Philip Morris International said.

But a longtime opponent of the tobacco industry is more than skeptical about the company's motives.

"You've got to consider the source," said Pat McKone, regional senior director for the American Lung Association in Duluth. "It's Philip Morris. How many chances do we give a company that has a history of killing its customers?"

The new entrant is called IQOS (pronounced i-coas), an electronic device that heats - but doesn't burn - tobacco-filled sticks wrapped in paper to produce an aerosol that contains nicotine. IQOS is not an acronym for "I Quit Ordinary Smoking," said Corey Henry, senior manager for U.S. media relations at Philip Morris International, although "urban legend" says that it is. Instead, it's a meaningless term settled on by the company to try to convey the idea of sophisticated electronics, he said.

Already on sale in 47 foreign markets, including Japan and England, IQOS was approved on April 30 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for sale in this country. Although Philip Morris International owns the license to the product, it actually will be marketed in the U.S. by Philip Morris USA, which is owned by Altria - a separate company, Henry said.

As in other countries, it won't be sold in convenience stores but in separate brick-and-mortar buildings, he said, with Atlanta chosen as the site for the initial launch.

Philip Morris' pitch, according to Henry: For smokers who are unable to give up their habit, heated tobacco is a less-harmful alternative.

"In the U.S. right now there's around 40 million men and women (who smoke)," he said. "Somewhere around half of them have a real interest in switching to something else. But they haven't. That suggests to us that there's a real opportunity."

Philip Morris has done "an enormous amount of scientific research" on the product, Henry said. In its statement approving the device, the FDA cited a "rigorous science-based review" leading the agency to find the IQOS "appropriate for the protection of public health because ... the products produce fewer or lower levels of some toxins than combustible cigarettes."

The company doesn't claim the product is safe, Henry said.

"ICOS is not safe," he said. "It's not risk-free. It contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical. ... Our advice to people is if you are a smoker the best thing you can do is quit."

But McKone said she's troubled by the idea that people given the option of an alternative touted as less harmful will choose that instead of quitting. Switching to such a device "gives the reward of, 'Yeah you did it,'" she said. "That has serious over-a-lifetime consequences."

A tobacco researcher for the University of Minnesota said there isn't yet enough information available to determine the level of risk from heated tobacco.

To date, most of the research has been done by the industry, said Irina Stepanov, an associate professor at the U's Masonic Cancer Center.

"It's important to see research data reproduced by multiple groups to strengthen the evidence," she said.

Existing evidence suggests that exposure to toxins and carcinogens might be less from heated-tobacco devices than from traditional cigarettes, Stepanov said.

"But what we know is that tobacco itself is highly complex chemically," she said.

The chemical composition of the aerosol users inhale from the heated tobacco will be much more complex than the aerosol produced by e-cigarettes, she added. "And we know that many health outcomes associated with the use of tobacco products or other products that are known to be harmful are primarily driven by the chemicals that are present in the product."

IQOS stores only sell their products to current smokers, Henry said, although they can't be certain consumers are telling them the truth about their smoking.

IQOS isn't marketed to youth, Henry said. Unlike e-cigarettes, which come in flavors such as cool mint, mango and creme brulee, the FDA only authorized Philip Morris to sell three IQOS products: Marlboro Heatsticks, Marlboro Smooth Menthol Heatsticks and Marlboro Fresh Menthol Heatsticks. Those were created to mimic the experience current smokers already have, Henry said.

Both McKone and Stepanov said the heated tobacco devices appear to be somewhat more difficult to conceal than e-cigarettes, which have proven to be a stubborn presence in schools. A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that one out of every five high school students nationally had reported vaping last year.

Henry said there's no evidence of a "worrying trend" about youth use of IQOS in other countries.

Stepanov said she hopes it won't be marketed to youth, but that there's no research indicating whether it will appeal to young people.

"It is not a sleek design like Juul electronic cigarettes, which looks like a flash drive that kids can easily conceal," she said. "But it is small enough that it could easily be put in a pocket."

But heated tobacco requires both a "heat stick" and a holder, so there would be more to conceal, she said.

Altria, parent company of Philip Morris USA, purchased a 35 percent share of Juul in December. But Philip Morris International takes a different approach than Juul, Henry said.

"The only thing I can do is speak to our approach," he said. "Our approach, I think we're quite proud of it. We started first with what would be the right product to give the current adult smoker ... a better option?"

The company invested $6 billion in developing the product, Henry said.