There are various types of heated tobacco products in the marketplace. [1] Some examples include products that use tobacco sticks such as glo and IQOS, or products that use loose-leaf tobacco such as PAX and Ploom. [2] Some use product-specific customized cigarettes. [2] There are devices that use cannabis. [3] Heated tobacco products usually heat up tobacco, rather than use liquids. [4] In contrast, electronic cigarettes heat liquids that can contain nicotine. [5] They are not e-cigarettes. [2] They can overlap with e-cigarettes such as a combination of an e-cigarette and a heated tobacco product, for the use of tobacco or e-liquid. [6]
A wide variety of new tobacco- and smoking-related products have emerged on the market in recent years, as of 2018. [1] Moreover, tobacco companies will keep developing new products to keep meeting the changing needs of their consumers and fulfill changing regulatory requirements. [1] These tobacco-related products can quickly gain popularity, even before there is sufficient scientific evidence to determine their effects on the user and bystander. [1] For instance, recently products marketed as "harm reduction," "reduced risk," or "next generation" products were introduced making claims of being up to 90% less harmful than traditional cigarettes, as of 2018. [1] Even though these products seem very attractive to consumers, independent scientific research to support these claims is lacking. [1] In addition, these products may be attractive for smokers, but may also be used by non-smokers. [1] Besides, regardless of their own harmfulness, popular new products could also serve as a gateway to the use of tobacco or tobacco-related products. [1]
According to a 2018 report, given their potential harmful health effects, and the possibility that these products serve as a gateway to the use of more harmful products, it is important for national authorities and scientists to closely monitor product development of new tobacco and tobacco-related products. [1] Data on product development, marketing strategies, and consumer interest in new products could help to understand potential implications for public health and guide tobacco control efforts. [1] The World Health Organization recognizes the importance of monitoring the availability and regulation of new tobacco and tobacco-related products entering national and global markets. [1]
The tobacco control community is still deciding how to address the unexpected rise in popularity of e-cigarettes. [7] However, there is another product innovation already emerging: Heated tobacco products. [7] These products are being introduced in markets around the world by tobacco companies seeking to appeal to consumers who still demand the "throat-hit" delivered by traditional cigarettes but not by e-cigarettes. [7]
Japan has been the focal market to test the potential of heated tobacco products as a cigarette alternative, where manufacturers have marketed several heated tobacco brands nationwide, including Japan Tobacco's "Ploom TECH" device in March 2016, Philip Morris International"s "iQOS" device in April 2016, and British American Tobacco’s "glo" device in December 2016. [7] As of 2017, tobacco industry leaders have predicted that heated tobacco products are poised to further displace traditional cigarette smoking and, by extension, tobacco control strategies typically framed around traditional cigarettes. [7]
A regular cigarette consists primarily of tobacco leaves wrapped in cigarette paper. [8] It may also contain a filter, chemical additives, or other components. [8] The user lights the tip of the cigarette to burn the tobacco and inhales the smoke through the unlit end. [8]
A heated tobacco product consists of a heating source and tobacco. [8] The tobacco may be wrapped in paper, which makes it a type of cigarette. [8] However, the tobacco is heated to a lower temperature than a combusted cigarette to create an aerosol that the user inhales. [8]
An electronic cigarette uses an e-liquid that may contain nicotine (typically derived from the tobacco plant), glycerin, propylene glycol, flavorings, and other ingredients. [8] The device has an electric heat source that heats the e-liquid to create an aerosol that the user inhales. [8]
There are two types of heated tobacco products currently allowed to be sold in the US, as of 2019. [8] One product type, which has been on the US market at various times since the 1990s, uses a carbon tip wrapped in glass fibers. [8] The user lights the carbon tip, which heats the dried tobacco inside to a temperature that does not cause the product to create ash or burn down in size. [8]
Another heated tobacco product called IQOS [10] that recently obtained US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) authorization in April 2019 consists of an electronic heating device and sticks made from dried tobacco wrapped in paper. [8] The user places the stick into the electronic heating device, which pierces the stick with a glass-covered ceramic blade that heats the tobacco, creating an aerosol. [8]
There are a variety of products colloquially called heated tobacco products and heated tobacco products that do not appear to fit easily into universally agreed upon product categories. [8] Products currently sold in global markets may function in various ways. [8] For example, these products heat to various temperatures, can contain dry, moist, or liquid tobacco ingredients, and appear in a wide variety of shapes. [8]
For the US FDA's purposes, if a tobacco product meets the legal definition of a cigarette but the tobacco is not heated to a temperature high enough to cause combustion, the product would be currently categorized as a non-combusted cigarette and regulated as a cigarette. [8] As of 2019, the types of heated tobacco products currently authorized for sale in the US are all non-combusted cigarettes. [8]
Premier was an American brand of smokeless cigarettes which was owned and manufactured by the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR). Premier was released in the United States in 1988. It was the first commercial heated tobacco product. However, it was difficult to use and tasted unpleasant; as a result, it was unpopular with consumers. A commercial failure, the brand was a significant financial loss for RJR and was quickly taken off the market.
A vaporizer or vaporiser, colloquially known as a vape, is a device used to vaporize substances for inhalation. Plant substances can be used, commonly cannabis, tobacco, or other herbs or blends of essential oil. However, they are most commonly filled with a combination propylene glycol, glycerin, and drugs such as nicotine or tetrahydrocannabinol as a liquid solution.
Tobacco harm reduction (THR) is a public health strategy to lower the health risks to individuals and wider society associated with using tobacco products. It is an example of the concept of harm reduction, a strategy for dealing with the use of drugs. Tobacco smoking is widely acknowledged as a leading cause of illness and death, and reducing smoking is vital to public health.
An electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) or vape is a device that simulates tobacco smoking. It consists of an atomizer, a power source such as a battery, and a container such as a cartridge or tank filled with liquid. Instead of smoke, the user inhales vapor. As such, using an e-cigarette is often called "vaping". The atomizer is a heating element that vaporizes a liquid solution called e-liquid, which quickly cools into an aerosol of tiny droplets, vapor and air. E-cigarettes are activated by taking a puff or pressing a button. Some look like traditional cigarettes, and most kinds are reusable. The vapor mainly comprises propylene glycol and/or glycerin, usually with nicotine and flavoring. Its exact composition varies, and depends on several things including user behavior.
Pax Labs is an American electronic vaporizer company founded in 2007 that markets the Pax vaporizers. The company developed the Juul e-cigarette. Juul Labs was spun out as a separate company in 2017.
blu is an electronic cigarette brand, produced by Fontem Ventures and owned by Imperial Brands. The brand blu sells various types of rechargeable and disposable e-cigarettes with a wide selection of flavored and unflavored liquids. Its products are available in many countries and each market offers different types of products suited to public demand and opportunities. The global headquarters of blu is located in Amsterdam. Local offices are active around the world to service all markets which sell the brand.
The use of electronic cigarettes (vaping) carries health risks. The risk depends on the fluid and varies according to design and user behavior. In the United Kingdom, vaping is considered by some to be around 95% less harmful than tobacco after a controversial landmark review by Public Health England.
The scientific community in the United States and Europe are primarily concerned with the possible effect of electronic cigarette use on public health. There is concern among public health experts that e-cigarettes could renormalize smoking, weaken measures to control tobacco, and serve as a gateway for smoking among youth. The public health community is divided over whether to support e-cigarettes, because their safety and efficacy for quitting smoking is unclear. Many in the public health community acknowledge the potential for their quitting smoking and decreasing harm benefits, but there remains a concern over their long-term safety and potential for a new era of users to get addicted to nicotine and then tobacco. There is concern among tobacco control academics and advocates that prevalent universal vaping "will bring its own distinct but as yet unknown health risks in the same way tobacco smoking did, as a result of chronic exposure", among other things.
An electronic cigarette is a handheld battery-powered vaporizer that simulates smoking, but without tobacco combustion. E-cigarette components include a mouthpiece, a cartridge, a heating element/atomizer, a microprocessor, a battery, and some of them have an LED light on the end. An atomizer consists of a small heating element, or coil, that vaporizes e-liquid and a wicking material that draws liquid onto the coil. When the user inhales a flow sensor activates the heating element that atomizes the liquid solution; most devices are manually activated by a push-button. The e-liquid reaches a temperature of roughly 100–250 °C (212–482 °F) within a chamber to create an aerosolized vapor. The user inhales an aerosol, which is commonly but inaccurately called vapor, rather than cigarette smoke. Vaping is different from smoking, but there are some similarities, including the hand-to-mouth action of smoking and an aerosol that looks like cigarette smoke. The aerosol provides a flavor and feel similar to tobacco smoking. There is a learning curve to use e-cigarettes properly. E-cigarettes are cigarette-shaped, and there are many other variations. E-cigarettes that resemble pens or USB memory sticks are also sold that may be used unobtrusively.
A modified risk tobacco product (MRTP) is a legal designation in the United States for a tobacco product that poses lower health risks to individual users and the population as a whole when compared to existing products on the market such as cigarettes. The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 gives the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) broad authority to regulate tobacco products; the FDA's power extends to approving or rejecting MRTP applications.
The chemical composition of the electronic cigarette aerosol varies across and within manufacturers. Limited data exists regarding their chemistry. However, researchers at Johns Hopkins University analyzed the vape clouds of popular brands such as Juul and Vuse, and found "nearly 2,000 chemicals, the vast majority of which are unidentified."
A vape shop is a retail outlet specializing in the selling of vaping products, though shops selling derived psychoactive cannabis products have increased since the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill. There are also online vape shops. A vape shop offers a range of vaping products. The majority of vape shops do not sell vaping products that are from "Big Tobacco" companies. In 2013, online search engine searches on vape shops surpassed searches on e-cigarettes. Around a third of all sales of vaping products take place in vape shops. Big Tobacco believes the independent vape market is a threat to their interests.
A heated tobacco product (HTP) is a tobacco product that heats the tobacco at a lower temperature than conventional cigarettes. These products contain nicotine, which is a highly addictive chemical. The heat generates an aerosol or smoke to be inhaled from the tobacco, which contains nicotine and other chemicals. HTPs may also contain additives not found in tobacco, including flavoring chemicals. HTPs generally heat tobacco to temperatures under 600 °C (1100 °F), a lower temperature than conventional cigarettes.
Iqos is a line of heated tobacco and electronic cigarette products manufactured by Philip Morris International (PMI). It was first introduced in November 2014 in Japan and Italy. Most of the IQOS products are devices that heat tobacco without burning it.
Pod mods are a type of electronic cigarette used to vape nicotine through a mouthpiece connected to the body of the device by magnets. These devices are a newer generation of e-cigarettes that are often marketed to a younger crowd that do not wish to attract attention gained through regular e-cigarettes or traditional tobacco-burning cigarettes. Pod mods contain a disposable cartridge and coils.
The composition of the emissions generated from heated tobacco products are generally lower than that found in cigarette smoke. This is due to the comparatively low temperatures, the filter systems, and physical design. The composition of what is produced is complex. The main toxicants found in the emissions of cigarette smoke are also found in the emissions of these products in varying concentrations. The aerosol generated contains levels of nicotine and cancer-causing chemicals that are comparable to regular cigarettes. The emissions contained 84% of the nicotine found in regular cigarettes.
Exposure to nicotine, from conventional or electronic cigarettes during adolescence can impair the developing human brain. E-cigarette use is recognized as a substantial threat to adolescent behavioral health. The use of tobacco products, no matter what type, is almost always started and established during adolescence when the developing brain is most vulnerable to nicotine addiction. Young people's brains build synapses faster than adult brains. Because addiction is a form of learning, adolescents can get addicted more easily than adults. The nicotine in e-cigarettes can also prime the adolescent brain for addiction to other drugs such as cocaine. Exposure to nicotine and its great risk of developing an addiction, are areas of significant concern.
Electronic cigarettes are marketed to smoking and non-smoking men, women, and children as being safer than cigarettes. In the 2010s, large tobacco businesses accelerated their marketing spending on vape products, similar to the strategies traditional cigarette companies used in the 1950s and 1960s.
Nicotine salts are salts formed from nicotine and an acid. They are found naturally in tobacco leaves. Various acids can be used, leading to different conjugate bases paired with the ammonium form of nicotine.