The Food and Drug Administration denied a citizens petition filed in 2011 by RJ Reynolds Tobacco and American Snuff to amend health warnings for smokeless products to include a reduced risk claim relative to cigarettes, the FDA said.

The two Reynolds American companies asked that one of four mandated warnings on packaging be changed from “This product is not a safe alternative to cigarettes”, to “No tobacco product is safe, but this product presents substantially lower risks to health than cigarettes.”
FDA “determined there is insufficient evidence to demonstrate that a change in the warnings would promote greater public understanding of the risks associated with the use of smokeless tobacco products,” the agency said.