BAT announced a new cross-sectional clinical study of Velo, which is designed to provide new insights into the real-world health impact of its modern oral nicotine pouch product compared to smoking.
Protocol details explaining the design have been published in the journal JMIR Research Protocols.
The study evaluates exposure to certain toxicants and early indicators associated with smoking-related disease in people who have been exclusively using Velo for over six months and compares them with groups of smokers, former smokers, and never-smokers.
The biomarkers selected are important indicators that include Biomarkers of Exposure, a person’s exposure to certain toxicants or chemicals, and Biomarkers of Potential Harm, which are indicators of potential harm related to several smoking-related diseases, such as respiratory or cardiovascular disease
It is hoped that the results, which are currently being analysed and will be published by the end of the year, will provide further supportive evidence that using Velo may reduce relative risk for certain diseases among adult consumers compared to smoking.
“Modern oral nicotine pouches are an exciting product category, which build upon the extensive scientific evidence available for snus, but are designed to offer adult consumers an improved, tobacco-free reduced-risk alternative,” Dr Sharon Goodall, BAT’s Group Head of Regulatory Sciences, said.
“We have already generated data that shows Velo has a toxicant profile better than snus and is comparable to Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT). However, we wanted to generate further evidence to demonstrate the important contribution it can make to tobacco harm reduction.
“I believe the results of this study will provide important new information and we look forward to sharing them once available.”
