While e-cigarettes have been firmly established as an alternative to cigarettes for many years, tobacco heaters are still on the rise. As an alternative to smoking, a tobacco heater offers many innovative advantages over the classic cigarette. What distinguishes the heater from the cigarette and are they really healthier?
Heated tobacco products – The next generation of smoke-free alternatives targeting teens
One of the most effective methods in recent years has been the use of influencers to promote products to young people via the Internet. Tobacco companies are using social media platforms extensively and are working hard to make this content easily accessible to young audiences, for example, by relying on celebrity and influencer endorsements and incorporating ambitious hashtags. Individuals are encouraged to buy products based on the perceived social image and popularity of influencers – just the latest in a long line of tactics to make smoking seem “cool”. Legislation regulating this form of influencer advertising is inconsistent across the European region, so this unconventional type of advertising often remains hidden to otherwise stringent tobacco product advertising and promotion control measures.
What are heated tobacco products?
Heat tobacco products, or “heat-not-burn (HNB) products,” do exactly what their name suggests: They only heat tobacco instead of burning it. This is their key distinguishing feature from conventional cigarettes. Because heating tobacco products do not burn tobacco, and therefore there is no combustion process, they do not produce smoke, and their aerosols contain fewer and lower levels of harmful constituents compared to cigarette smoke. Since there is no combustion in tobacco products for heating, they also do not produce ash, unlike conventional cigarettes. A tobacco product for heating consists of two main parts: the heating source and the tobacco itself. Some, but not all, devices that heat tobacco are electronic, and the exact temperature to which the tobacco is heated varies from product to product. It is important to note that tobacco heating products do not produce the high temperatures at which tobacco is burned. What cigarettes and tobacco products for heating have in common is the use of tobacco, which naturally contains nicotine. Moreover, both conventional cigarettes and the so-called tobacco sticks, which are heated, are equipped with a filter.
Are heated tobacco products the same as electronic cigarettes?
Electric cigarettes and tobacco heaters are quickly confused. Although neither involves a combustion process, the alternatives for cigarettes are not identical.
- E-liquids versus Tobacco Sticks
- The e-cigarette is without tobacco
- Tobacco heaters are only available with nicotine
E-liquids versus Tobacco Sticks
The first difference is that tobacco heaters special tobacco sticks are heated electrically. This creates the characteristic aerosol. It is different from the e-cigarette, which vaporizes liquid.
The e-cigarette is without tobacco
Another difference is that the e-cigarette is without tobacco. The e-liquids can only have tobacco-like notes. Instead, a tobacco heater allows tobacco enjoyment with real tobacco.
Tobacco heaters are only available with nicotine
Electric cigarette e-liquids can contain nicotine, but they don’t have to. They are available with different nicotine strengths, but also completely nicotine-free. A tobacco heater, on the other hand, always contains nicotine.
What are the health effects of using heated tobacco products?
Alternatives to cigarette smoking have also been criticized for being harmful. The cancer risk of shishas is even higher than that of regular cigarettes. Tobacco heaters have also been studied for their harmfulness since their development. Because the product is comparatively new, there are no long-term studies yet to track the long-term effects of the benefits of tobacco heaters. Substances such as acetaldehyde and formaldehyde are said to be 60 to 70 percent less in the vapor than they are when tobacco is burned. It is not known how decisive this is in determining whether and to what extent one’s health is harmed.
Are tobacco heaters less harmful than cigarettes?
Some studies have shown that for numerous harmful substances, their content in the aerosol of tobacco heaters is lower than in the smoke of a cigarette, including, for example, tar, carbon monoxide, acetaldehyde and formaldehyde. However, “lower content” simply means that there are fewer of these substances in the aerosol. And for carcinogenic substances in particular, such as formaldehyde, no limits can be set on when they become harmful. “Less of it” is therefore good news only at first glance.
Conclusion – Compared to cigarettes tobacco heaters are only conditionally less harmful
Even without combustion products and despite lower amounts (compared to cigarettes) of some pollutants in the aerosol, tobacco heaters pose a health risk that should be kept in mind. Consumption also involves inhalation of nicotine, which is known to be addictive.