Tobacco giant presses its case for a better-for-you cigarette

Philip Morris International, the company that supplies Marlboros, Parliaments and Virginia Slims to smokers across the globe, is looking to get into a less dangerous line of business. At a meeting this week outside Washington, the world's premier purveyor of cigarettes is trying to convince a panel convened by the Food and Drug Administration that its newest offering will be a boon to the nation's public health.

Philip Morris and its U.S. partner, Altria, want the FDA's permission to sell a tobacco product it calls the IQOS system in the United States.

They're prepared to tell potential customers that IQOS is not danger-free. But they want the FDA to greenlight a tantalizing marketing claim: that, for those