 | A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject.(January 2025) |
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| Industry | Tobacco |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Pax Labs |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Founder | |
Key people |
|
| Owner | Japan Tobacco International |
| Website | https://www.ploom.com/ |
Ploom is a brand of tobacco heating devices that integrates aspects of both traditional and electronic cigarettes. The device employs a technology that heats tobacco without combustion. It is marketed by Japan Tobacco Inc. (JTI).
Ploom was initially developed in California by James Monsees and Adam Bowen. The two friends were studying design at Stanford University. For their final thesis, they developed the design of an e-cigarette that would provide smokers with the nicotine they seek without the additional carcinogenic substances resulting from burning tobacco. [1] Two years later, in 2007, they founded the company Ploom to distribute their e-cigarette. [2] Unable to find support from financial institutions, Ploom relied on private investors like Nicholas J. Pritzker [1] to launch their products. [3] [4]
In 2010, Ploom released a model called the Ploom Model One Vaporizer, designed like an oversize pen. The initial Ploom e-cigarette did not have commercial success. [5]
In 2011, Japan Tobacco International invested $10 million into the company. [6] Ploom used this money to create the Pax, a vaporizer that resembled a stubby iPhone. [7] Subsequently, Ploom released the ModelTwo. In 2015, JTI acquired the patents and trademarks. [1] JTI retains the rights to manufacture and distribute the ModelTwo device and the pods product line. [8]
While the product was invented to support smokers, cannabis users discovered that the Pax streamlined the cannabis experience. [5] JTI asked to part ways with Ploom. Ploom retained their rights to the Pax product, while Ploom changed their name to Pax Labs and bought JTI out of their share. [9]
In 2016, Ploom was launched on the Japanese market [10] and then in other countries, including France, [11] Italy, South Korea [12] and Switzerland. [13] The initial launch in Fukuoka, Japan, was so popular that shipments were suspended after a week due to a supply shortage. [10] According to JTI, Ploom would make it possible to inhale 99% of harmful constituents in less, compared to a cigarette that burns. [13] But the owner also acknowledges that no toxicity studies have been conducted on Ploom. [14]
In 2023, Romania is the tenth country where JTI is launching Ploom. [15] JTI plans to invest $3 billion in the global expansion of Ploom and is targeting 24 countries in 2024. [16]
Altria Group, Inc. is an American corporation and one of the world's largest producers and marketers of tobacco, cigarettes, and medical products in the treatment of illnesses caused by tobacco. It operates worldwide and is headquartered in Henrico County, Virginia, just outside the city of Richmond.
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.
An electronic cigarette (e-cigarette), or vape, is a device that simulates smoking. It consists of an atomizer, a power source such as a battery, and a container such as a cartridge or tank. Instead of smoke, the user inhales vapor. As such, using an e-cigarette is often called "vaping".
JTI - Japan Tobacco International is the international tobacco division of Japan Tobacco, one of the three largest international Big Tobacco product manufacturers. The holding company is JT International SA and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan; Geneva, Switzerland; and Raleigh, North Carolina. It sells its brands in 120 countries.
Regulation of electronic cigarettes varies across countries and states, ranging from no regulation to banning them entirely. As of 2015, around two thirds of major nations have regulated e-cigarettes in some way. A 2023 report by the World Health Organization (WHO) found that 34 countries had banned the sale of e-cigarettes.
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 based in Amsterdam and owned by British tobacco company 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 health effects of e-cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are generally claimed to be less than those of smoking, but worse than not smoking at all. However, health is a function not only of the inhaled materials, but of how and how often the products are used, over what period, manufacturing/distribution quality control, marketing, the regulatory environment, and the actual user population. Reported risks include exposure to toxic chemicals, increased likelihood of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and accelerated cancer development.
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.
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 in the United States 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 in one US state took place in vape shops. Big Tobacco believes the independent vape market is a threat to their interests.
Juul Labs, Inc. is an American electronic cigarette company that spun off from Pax Labs in 2017. The Juul electronic cigarette atomizes nicotine salts derived from tobacco supplied by one-time use cartridges.
Vuse is an American brand of electronic cigarettes introduced in 2013. It is produced by R. J. Reynolds Vapor Company, a subsidiary of the Reynolds American tobacco company and itself a part of British American Tobacco (BAT). Products were previously also marketed internationally as Vype, originally launched by BAT before its acquisition of Reynolds American, until 2021.
NJOY, LLC is an American company that manufactures and distributes electronic cigarettes and vaping products. The company has been under wholly ownership of Altria Group since 2023.
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.
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.
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.
Veev is a brand of electronic cigarettes manufactured by Philip Morris International (PMI). The Veev originated as an element of the broader Iqos portfolio, under the name Mesh. The reworked product under the Veev brand was gradually rolled out from 2020 onwards. It currently consists of a disposable product named Veev Now and a reusable product named Veev One.