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TOBACCO giant Philip Morris (PMI) has bought out the patent of a nicotine aerosol billed as a less harmful alternative to cigarettes.

The smokeless technology was developed by Jed Rose, the director of Duke University’s Center for Nicotine and Smoking Cessation Research in North Carolina, US. PMI, the world’s biggest tobacco company by revenue and responsible for brands such as Marlboro, has estimated that it will take a few years to work the technology into a workable product.

Rose, who has been involved with research into the field since its inception, hopes that by removing smoke from the smoking process the aerosol will lower the risks associated with nicotine use.

“The diseases caused by smoking are believed to be due largely to the harmful products of combustion rather than to nicotine itself,” he said. “We believe this new technology has the potential over time to offer an attractive alternative to conventional cigarettes, thereby reducing smokers’ exposure to carcinogens and other harmful smoke constituents.”

The purchase, terms of which were not disclosed, is one of a series of moves towards delivering a smokeless nicotine hit by big tobacco companies over recent years. Bans or restrictions on cigarette use have been growing around the world, and their widely publicised health risks, including cancer, heart disease and lung disease, have spurred manufacturers to search for less harmful alternatives. In April one of PMI’s biggest competitors, British American Tobacco, launched a subsidiary called Nicoventures specifically to develop non-tobacco nicotine products.

Doug Dean, PMI’s senior vice president of R&D, said: “This agreement represents a further important step in our efforts to develop products that have the potential to reduce the risk of smoking-related diseases. We look forward to working jointly with Dr Rose to assure the product development and eventual commercialisation of this unique technology.”