For those of you who don’t know what the iQOS is, it’s a “heat not burn” product. It uses an electronic heating device and a “Tobacco Unit” or “Heat Stick” or “HEET” which is, for the most part, a cigarette containing many of the same chemicals used in cigarettes.
HEETS are made up of elements that include a tobacco plug, hollow acetate tube, polymer-film filter, cellulose-acetate mouthpiece filter, and outer and mouth-end papers.
Instead of burning the tobacco, it heats it up to 350˚C releasing nicotine-containing vapor.
Although it is a tobacco harm reduction product, and better for you than a cigarette, there is still question as to whether or not it’s “as safe” as vaping. I’ve spoken to a few experts in the field and the consensus is that vaping is still a safer alternative than the IQOS.
We’ve all seen and heard of the “at least 95% safer than smoking a traditional tobacco cigarette” when it comes to vaping from the Royal College of Physicians. It would be very interesting to know the percentage IQOS delivers.
And yet, here we are. It has been approved for sale in the U.S. by the FDA. According to the press release:
Following a rigorous science-based review through the premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) pathway, the agency determined that authorizing these products for the U.S. market is appropriate for the protection of the public health because, among several key considerations, the products produce fewer or lower levels of some toxins than combustible cigarettes.
You can read the entire release HERE.
So wait a minute… isn’t this exactly what vaping is?
the products produce fewer or lower levels of some toxins than combustible cigarettes
The IQOS did get through the PMTA but they had to pay to play.
My question… is it fair? Philip Morris has plenty of money to throw at a PMTA. I would imagine many if not most vape companies do not. And if they do not, will they be able to keep the products that many people know and love on the market. Products that have “fewer or lower levels of some toxins than combustible cigarettes”.
If “the protection of the public health” is truly important to the FDA, they need to create a more cost effective and streamlined or “accelerated PMTA” for the vaping sector.
I’m happy that the IQOS will be available as a harm reduction product for smokers, but I want vaping products to be available as well.
- I want a level and fair playing field.
- I want variety and choice.
- As an adult, I want to be able to choose my flavor.
- I want to see vape shops continue to survive and thrive.
Safer than a cigarette is safer than a cigarette and it should not take years and millions to put these potentially life saving products in the hands of smokers.
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