Comprehensive Air Quality Assessment of the Tobacco Heating System 2.2 under Simulated Indoor Environments

New insights in tobacco radiotoxicity: on the research of 210Po in modern heated tobacco product-radioactivity, distribution, and dose assessment

The purpose of the study was to assess the radiological risk to users and the environment related to the Glo system used to heat tobacco. The concentration of 210Po, radioactivity per cartridge, and radiation dose assessment were evaluated. For comparison purposes, to present the exposure scale, the same analyses were also performed for several traditional cigarettes. The tests were carried out on an alpha spectrometer equipped with a PIPS detector. After examining 60 samples, the concentration of 210Po was found in tobacco that was a filling of Neo cartridges and in traditional cigarettes. 210Po concentrations [in mBq∙g-1] in heated tobacco were higher than in unheated. After heating, a little release of polonium (mBq per cartridge) was observed. The research was also done taking into account the flavor of the Neo cartridges and cartridges from different packages. The 210Po concentrations in heated Neo cartridges were greater than 30 mBq∙g-1 and in traditional cigarettes up to 50 mBq∙g-1. The estimated annual effective dose for Neo cartridges was lower than that for traditional smoking. However, it cannot be concluded that the use of Neo cartridges is healthier and does not affect the environment. What is disturbing is the increase in the number of cartridges used daily, resulting in the creation of waste containing 210Po and, of course, a higher effective dose received by the user.

The Product Science of Electrically Heated Tobacco Products: An Updated Narrative Review of the Scientific Literature

Heated tobacco products represent a novel category of tobacco products in which a tobacco consumable is heated to a temperature that releases nicotine from the tobacco leaf but not to a temperature sufficient to cause combustion. Heated tobacco products may therefore have the potential to be a less harmful alternative for adult smokers who would otherwise continue to smoke cigarettes, as their use should result in exposure to substantially fewer and lower levels of toxicants. This update represents a two-year extension to our previous narrative review, which covered peer-reviewed journal articles published up to August 31, 2021. The scientific evidence published between 2021 and 2023 continues to indicate that aerosols produced from heated tobacco products contain fewer and substantially lower levels of harmful and potentially harmful constituents and that these observed reductions consistently translate to reduced biological effects in both in vitro and in vivo toxicological studies. Biomarker and clinical data from studies in which product use is controlled within a clinical setting continue to suggest changes in levels of biomarkers of exposure, biomarkers of potential harm, and clinical endpoints indicating the potential for reduced harm with switching to exclusive use of heated tobacco products in adult smokers. Overall, the available peer-reviewed scientific evidence continues to indicate that heated tobacco products offer promise as a potentially less harmful alternative to cigarettes, and as such, the conclusions of our original narrative review remain valid.

Particle emissions from heated tobacco products

INTRODUCTION

This study determines the particle emissions from five heated tobacco products (HTPs).

METHODS

An aethalometer is used for the determination of black carbon (BC) and an aerosol monitor for total particulate matter (PM) concentration and also PM fractions (1, 2.5, 4, and 10 μm) in the mainstream emissions of 5 HTPs: IQOS, LIL, PULZE, ILUMA, and GLO. Fifteen different flavors were used, five sticks per flavor, which were smoked using a peristaltic pump under both ISO and Canadian smoking regimes. The method repeatability was determined using 15 sticks of one flavor for each brand for each smoking regime.

RESULTS

All HTPs emit particles, and more than 99.7% of the particles emitted are smaller than 1 μm. Both BC and PM emissions show quite low repeatability. Particle emissions increase in relation to the heating temperature and the intensity smoking regime, and are depending on the flavor used. BC corresponds to a small percentage of total PM.

CONCLUSIONS

Although HTPs are promoted as products of reduced risk compared to conventional cigarettes, high particle concentrations are detected in their emissions, depending on the smoking regime, the flavor used, and the operation parameters. PM emissions vary significantly between different brands under the ISO smoking regime, probably due to the heating temperature. In contrast, PM emissions under the Canadian smoking regime do not vary significantly between different brands. This could probably be attributed to the fact that increased puff frequency does not allow the device to cool down between puffs, resulting in an increase in PM emissions for all the brands, but not dependent on the maximum heating temperature of the device. BC emissions only consist of a very small fraction of PM and do not vary significantly between different brands under both smoking regimes.

Analysis of mainstream emissions, secondhand emissions and the environmental impact of IQOS waste: a systematic review on IQOS that accounts for data source

OBJECTIVE

To highlight the general features of IQOS literature focusing on the chemical analysis of IQOS emissions.

DATA SOURCES

PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus databases were searched on 8 November 2021 using the terms 'heated tobacco product', 'heat-not-burn', 'IQOS' and 'tobacco heating system' with time restriction (2010-2021). The search yielded 5480 records.

STUDY SELECTION

Relevant publications on topics related to IQOS assessment were retrieved (n=341). Two reviewers worked separately and reached agreement by consensus.

DATA EXTRACTION

Data on author affiliation and funding, article type and date of publication were extracted. Publications were categorised depending on their focus and outcomes. Data on IQOS emissions from the chemical analysis category were extracted.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Of the included publications, 25% were published by Philip Morris International (PMI) affiliates or PMI-funded studies. PMI-sponsored publications on emissions, toxicology assessments and health effects were comparable in number to those reported by independent research, in contrast to publications on IQOS use, market trends and regulation. Data on nicotine yield, carbonyl emissions, other mainstream emissions, secondhand emissions and IQOS waste were compared between data sources to highlight agreement or disagreement between PMI-sponsored and independent research.

CONCLUSIONS

Our analysis showed agreement between the data sources on nicotine yield from IQOS under the same puffing conditions. Also, both sources agreed that IQOS emits significantly reduced levels of some emissions compared with combustible cigarettes. However, independent studies and examination of PMI's data showed significant increases in other emissions from and beyond the Food and Drug Administration's harmful and potentially harmful constituents list.

Comparison of the effects of three types of heating tobacco system and conventional cigarettes on indoor air quality

Abstract

Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) from conventional cigarettes is reported to affect indoor air quality (IAQ) in various real indoor environments. Recently, Japan Tobacco Inc. introduced three types of tobacco product that are heated rather than combusted. These comprise one direct heating tobacco system and two in-direct heating tobacco systems. In this study, the impact of using these products on IAQ was evaluated in an environmentally controlled chamber. Two environmental conditions, simulating restaurant and residential spaces, were examined. Under the same conditions, cigarette smoking and the presence of people only were used as positive and negative controls, respectively. The indoor air concentrations of 48 constituents (tobacco-specific nitrosamines, carbonyls, volatile organic compounds, total volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, polycyclic aromatic amines, mercury, metals, ETS markers, propylene glycol, glycerol, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, suspended particle matter, ammonia, and nitrogen oxides) were measured. Compared with the presence of people, the concentrations of some constituents were actually increased when using heating tobacco products under both environmental conditions, simulating restaurant and residential spaces. However, the constituent concentrations were lower than those obtained by cigarette smoking, except for propylene glycol and glycerol, and below the exposure limits for constituents in air, as defined by air quality guidelines or regulations. Based on these data, the use of heating tobacco systems in appropriate indoor environments has less impacts compared to conventional cigarettes.

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