Composition of heated tobacco product emissions
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The composition of the emissions generated from heated tobacco products are generally lower than that found in cigarette smoke.[1] This is due to the comparatively low temperatures, the filter systems, and physical design.[1] The composition of what is produced is complex.[2] The main toxicants found in the emissions of cigarette smoke (i.e., tar, nicotine, carbonyl compounds, and nitrosamines) are also found in the emissions of these products in varying concentrations.[3] The aerosol generated contains levels of nicotine and cancer-causing chemicals that are comparable to regular cigarettes.[4] The emissions contained 84% of the nicotine found in regular cigarettes.[5]
The available research on the mainstream and exhaled aerosol generated by these products is limited, as of 2018.[6] They do not generate side-stream emissions.[6] The exhaled aerosol is highly volatile because it is made up of liquid particles that evaporate quickly.[6] The particle size of their emissions have a median aerodynamic diameter that is somewhat bigger than those found in cigarette smoke.[2] There is a lack of agreement on the composition of the emissions in the documented literature, as of 2018.[7] These products, however, still pose health risks.[1] Lower levels of harmful emissions has been shown, but lowering the risk to the smoker who transitions to using them has not been shown, as of 2018.[2] As a result of the various types of heated tobacco products, the characteristics and effects for each type will be different.[8]
Since the 1960s heated tobacco products were in development by tobacco companies.[9] Safer heated tobacco products that deliver nicotine but limit emissions of tar or carbon monoxide (CO) is a half-century old idea, which had been unsuccessfully market-tested since 1988, first as Premier by the RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) and later as Eclipse (RJR) and Accord Philip Morris International (PMI).[10] Various heated products were reintroduced to the market, as of 2018.[11]