Tag: heat not burn

PMI Launches ‘Cleaner’ Bladeless IQOS in Japan

Photo: Kuznietsov Dmitriy
Philip Morris International has launched IQOS Iluma, the brand’s first tobacco-heating system based on induction-heating technology, in Japan.
The device’s Smartcore induction system heats the tobacco from within the new Terea Smartcore Stick. These newly designed sticks are to be used only with IQOS Iluma, which features an auto-start function that detects when the Terea stick is inserted and automatically turns on the device.
According to PMI, the bladeless IQOS devices offer a cleaner way to heat tobacco from the core without burning it. They also provide a more consistent experience and leave no tobacco residue, eliminating the need to clean the device. Additionally, the devices generate no combustion and no smoke. PMI says its market research indicates that IQOS Iluma provides a more pleasurable experience compared to previous IQOS generations.
“IQOS Iluma is our most innovative offering to date and the new flagship in our portfolio of science-backed, smoke-free products. Its breakthrough induction-heating technology heats tobacco from within, without burning, so there’s no smoke, no ash and, like previous IQOS devices, it emits, on average, 95 percent lower levels of harmful chemicals compared with cigarettes,” said Michele Cattoni, vice president of heated-tobacco platforms at PMI, in a statement.
“However, unlike our previous tobacco-heating systems, IQOS Iluma has no blade. That means no tobacco residue or cleaning—ever. With this, and other product features, we aim to address consumer pain points that may have hindered some adult smokers from beginning or maintaining their journey away from cigarettes in the past.”
IQOS Iluma is available in two versions—IQOS Iluma Prime and IQOS Iluma. Both devices use new induction-heating technology but offer different designs. IQOS Iluma Prime and IQOS Iluma are available in Japan for pre-order on IQOS.com beginning Aug. 17, 2021, and for purchase at IQOS stores on Aug. 18, 2021.
As of June 30, 2021, PMI’s smoke-free products are available in 67 markets. The company has stated its ambition to be present in 100 markets with its smoke-free products by 2025. There are more than 20 million users of the IQOS tobacco-heating system globally, and PMI estimates that more than 73 percent (approximately 14.7 million) of these men and women have switched completely to IQOS and stopped smoking with the balance in various stages of switching. PMI’s ambition is that by 2025, at least 40 million PMI cigarette smokers who would otherwise continue to smoke will have switched to smoke-free products. Furthermore, the company’s ambition is that more than half of its net revenues will come from smoke-free products by 2025.
August 17, 2021
Heating Products Exempted from Mexico ENDS Ban

Photo: niyazz
Mexico’s Supreme Court has ruled that heated tobacco products (HTP) will be exempted from a February 2020 presidential decree that bans importation of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), reports Filter.
Prior to the on July 16 ruling, manufacturers were able to import and sell HTPs legally using a loophole in the law called “habeas corpus trials.” But the loophole prevented the development of a fully regulated, legal market. The new presidential decree reverses that and allows for increased sales of these devices.
Vapor products that use e-liquids continue to be banned by the Mexican government. According to Roberto Sussman, a researcher at the National University of Mexico and president of Pro-Vapeo Mexico, the vapor market in Mexico has been functioning since 2009 as part of the huge informal economy, which employs more than 50 percent of the workforce and it is illegal but not criminal.

It was an embarrassment for President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has expressed opposition to foreign NGOs and agents meddling with Mexican government regulations.
Roberto Sussman, president, Po-Vapeo Mexico
More than 1.2 million Mexicans—1 percent of the adult population—use vapor products somewhat regularly, according to a survey by the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction.
According to Filter, a fatal blow to the HTP ban came when it was leaked that the draft of the decree was written by a lawyer working for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
“It was an embarrassment for President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has expressed opposition to foreign NGOs and agents meddling with Mexican government regulations,” said Roberto Sussman.
It’s not the first time Mexico’s Supreme Court intervened in the country’s drug policy. On June 28, it stepped in to legalize marijuana, after lawmakers had failed to finalize the legislation the court demanded three years earlier.
July 23, 2021
WHO Details “Industry Attempts to Avoid Regulation”
Photo: Olrat
The World Health Organization has published a report detailing what it describes as attempts by manufacturers to avoid regulation of e-cigarettes and heated-tobacco products.
Titled “Litigation relevant to regulation of novel and emerging nicotine and tobacco products: comparison across jurisdictions,” the report offers governments examples of the legal arguments that the industry has used in attempts to minimize regulation as well as how courts have addressed those arguments.
The emergence of products such as heated-tobacco products (HTPs) and electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS) and their market growth has raised questions about how they should be regulated and how that regulation might affect comprehensive tobacco control.
The WHO previously published its position on regulation of these products but has not addressed legal issues, such as how those regulations are being challenged in different jurisdictions. The new report and the accompanying case summaries close this gap and provide the facts, discussion of legal issues, arguments advanced and the reasoning of the courts.
The key messages highlighted in the publication are:
ENDS and HTP manufacturers attempt to avoid products being regulated so as to fall within regulatory or legislative gaps.
Manufacturers can be expected to deploy arguments concerning the relative risk of different product categories and the need for coherent regulation along a continuum of risk.
Not all courts are receptive to arguments about relative risk, either because regulations are justified by reference to absolute risk or because the concept of relative risk must be judged at the population level and taking into account factors beyond relative toxicity.
Technological advances employed for the manufacture of novel and emerging nicotine and tobacco products will raise questions of whether a product falls within the ambit of the national legislation of the country.
There are relatively few cases addressing misleading marketing of ENDS, or enforcing restrictions on advertising, promotion and sponsorship, but important cases have been decided, including on how social media posts may constitute advertising and on whether advertising of an HTP device also constitutes advertising of a tobacco product.
June 22, 2021
Lil Moves into Southeastern Europe and Central Asia

Lil Solid 2.0 with Armenian health warnings
(Phot: KT&G)
KT&G’s Lil Solid 2.0 device and its Fiit heated-tobacco stick continues its global expansion with new launches in Central Asia and Southeastern Europe.
As part of a collaboration agreement between KT&G and Philip Morris International, Lil Solid 2.0 has been introduced into four Eurasian countries during the second quarter of 2021.
The device and its consumables debuted in Armenia on June 14. The products were also commercialized in Serbia and Kyrgyzstan on June 3 and 7, respectively. Lil Solid 2.0 and Fiit were previously introduced in Kazakhstan on May 13.
Lil Solid 2.0 is a second-generation model of KT&G’s heat-not-burn product with enhanced performance and design to improve consumer satisfaction. The product was first launched nationally in Korea in January this year. According to KT&G, it gained significant traction with its upgraded battery efficiency and induction heating technology.
The Lil Solid 2.0 device is available in two colors, Stone Grey and Cosmic Blue, in its new markets. The sticks come in seven types, including Fiit Regular, Fiit Viola And Fiit Crisp. Three or four types are sold in each country depending on the market situation.
Following the recent commercialization of Lil Solid 2.0 in four new markets, the Lil brand now is present in seven markets outside of South Korea. Previously, varieties of the brand were introduced in Russia, Ukraine and Japan.
“As Lil Solid 1.0 and Lil Hybrid 2.0 have been well received in their respective markets, we look forward for encouraging performance from Lil Solid 2.0 as well,” said Wang Seop Lim, chief of KT&G’s next-generation products business division, in a statement. “We will continue to provide broader choices to consumers outside Korea in the second half of this year through collaboration with PMI.”
June 16, 2021
Poda Prepares to Launch ‘Revolutionary’ HnB Product

Photo: Podya Lifestyle and Wellness
After six years of development, Poda Lifestyle and Wellness is ready to bring its revolutionary HnB product to the masses, according to company founder and CEO Ryan Selby. In a letter to shareholders, Selby detailed recent the company’s recent accomplishments and shared his plans.
Poda was founded in January 2015 with the vision of creating a superior heat-not-burn (HnB) product. The company set out to address a major pain-point in all HnB systems: cleaning. After six years of designing and perfecting the technology, it came up with a product that delivers a robust, flavorful and consistent user experience, according to Selby. “Poda is now essentially the only company in the world that can make a closed-ended HNB cigarette,” he says. Its Beyond Burn pods have been patented in more than 65 countries.
In addition, the company developed a heat-tolerant biodegradable material made from the cell walls of sustainably harvested plants. “This naturally derived and low-cost material allows us to produce our patented Beyond Burn Poda Pods not only incredibly efficiently, but also in an ethical and sustainable manner,” says Selby. Poda has filed for patent protection for the proprietary biodegradable plant cellulose materials used to make its closed-ended HNB cigarettes and the proprietary methods for manufacturing them.
The company’s tobacco-free Beyond Burn Poda Pods contain a proprietary blend of tea leaves and synthetic nicotine that delivers the satisfaction and sensory experience of ordinary smoking without the smoke and without the cleaning.
Recently, Poda executed a binding letter of intent with ESON with the intent of launching its products in China. Earlier this month, tobacco industry veteran Juan Manuel (“Jon”) Ruiz joined Poda’s strategic advisory board. A key top-level executive at Philip Morris International, Luiz was around during the time when PMI was internally developing its heat-not-burn products. “The experience and expertise that Jon brings from the fast-moving consumer goods market is of exceptional value to Poda,” said Selby.

We are now ready to scale our production capacities to virtually any production volume.
Ryan Selby, CEO, Poda
Less than two months ago, Poda listed its shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange and the Frankfurt Securities Exchange, and the company is currently waiting for final approval to have its shares listed on the OTCQB exchange in the U.S. Down the road, the company aims to “uplist” to the NASDAQ and other major global exchanges, according to Selby.
Meanwhile, Poda’s pilot manufacturing plant is fully operational and is turning out over 400,000 closed-ended HNB cigarette units per month. “We built this pilot facility to prove out each of our manufacturing technologies, and I am pleased to report that we are now ready to scale our production capacities to virtually any production volume,” said Selby.
Over the coming months, Poda will be aggressively pursuing distribution and white-labelling opportunities with carefully selected partners in strategic locations around the globe.
“As CEO, it is my responsibility to lead Poda towards our goal of becoming a major player in the global heat-not-burn market,” said Selby. “I know we have a fantastic product, but that on its own is not enough. We must make smart choices and take calculated risks to grow the company as quickly and sustainably as possible.”
June 9, 2021
Poda Patents Closed-Ended Heated Tobacco Device

Photo: Poda Lifestyle and Wellness
Poda Lifestyle and Wellness expects to receive patent protection for its Poda zero-cleaning heat-not-burn (HnB) technology in Europe and the United States soon.
The Poda system uses proprietary biodegradable single-use pods. The design prevents cross-contamination between the heating devices and the pods, eliminating cleaning requirements and providing users with a convenient and enjoyable potentially reduced-risk smoking experience.
The company’s says its pods are the first and only cigarettes to have a completely closed end. A closed-ended cigarette utilizing HnB heating technology allows for an ashless experience and provides for consistent quality each time a new pod is inserted into the heating device.
Poda Lifestyle and Wellness’ research and development commenced in January 2015. The Poda zero-cleaning technology was granted a Canadian patent in 2018 with patent entries filed in more than 65 additional countries.
“We have spent years of research and development with regards to our invention and are very pleased to see that our invention has been granted a patent in Canada,” said Poda CEO Ryan Selby in a statement.
“We have filed for patents in 65 other countries and expect USA and European patents to follow in short order now that we have received the Canadian patent.”
We have spent years of R&D and are very pleased to see that our invention has been granted a patent in Canada.
Ryan Selby , CEO, Poda
“This will protect our company for many years ahead as we launch Poda into the global marketplace as the first heat-not-burn system that allows users to experience maintenance-free heating of substrates such as tobacco or dried plant material with zero cross-contamination when switching from one substrate to another.”
May 26, 2021
Study: Impact of HNB No Less Harmful Than Cigarettes

Kuznietsov Dmitriy
The impact on lung cells of heat-not-burn (HNB) tobacco products may be no less harmful than that of conventional cigarettes, according to the authors of a small comparative study published by Thorax.
HNB products contain nicotine and tobacco but have been marketed by the tobacco industry as a less harmful alternative to conventional cigarettes on the grounds that they don’t produce specific harmful chemicals that are released when tobacco burns.
Smoking heightens the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, peripheral artery disease, and abdominal aortic aneurysm, because it has a role in all stages of artery hardening and blockage. And it causes emphysema and pulmonary hypertension, because it contributes to the damage of blood vessels in the lungs.
Specifically, it contributes to endothelial dysfunction–whereby the lining of small and large blood vessels becomes abnormal, causing arteries to constrict instead of dilating, or blood vessels to become more inflamed; oxidative stress—an excess of harmful cellular by-products; platelet activation–creation of ‘sticky’ blood; and plaque development that can block arteries.
The researchers wanted to find out if these effects could also be observed in people who used HNB products.
So they compared endothelial dysfunction, oxidative stress and platelet activation in 20 non-smokers (average age 28), 20 long term conventional cigarette smokers (average age 27), and 20 long-term users of HNB products (average age 33).
The conventional smokers had been puffing away for an average of 3.5 years, getting through 13 sticks a day; the HNB users had been getting through around 11 products every day for an average of 5 years.
The findings showed that compared with not smoking, long term use of HNB products was associated with reduced endothelial function and increased oxidative stress and platelet activation.
And there were no significant differences between conventional cigarette smokers and users of HNB products.
This is an observational study, so it can’t establish cause. And the researchers acknowledge several limitations to their findings.
These include the small numbers of study participants involved, the lack of random allocation to each group, and the inability to confirm that a participant wasn’t a dual user of both conventional cigarettes and HNB products.
If confirmed by other large studies, these findings could provide evidence to strongly discourage non-smokers to start using [HNB products].
Lorenzo Loffredo et al.
Nevertheless, they conclude: “If confirmed by other large studies, these findings could provide evidence to strongly discourage non-smokers to start using [HNB products] and to encourage [conventional cigarette] smokers to quit smoking.”In a second linked study, a team of researchers assessed whether the use of HNB products helped Japanese workers to give up tobacco for good.
They offered a smoking cessation program to 158 users of conventional cigarettes (94) alone and/or HNB products (64) between November 2018 and April 2019.
The workplace program included prescription varenicrine or nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), counselling, and information about stopping smoking.
The quit rate was logged in August 2019, when 45 (29 percent) of the workers had successfully stopped using all tobacco products.
Those who availed themselves of pharmacological support were more likely to quit than those who didn’t (67 percent vs 11 percent) as were those who received counseling (69 percent vs 21 percent).
Analysis of the results showed that people who used varenicrine or NRT were three times more likely to stop smoking tobacco than those who didn’t.
But those who either used HNB products alone or in addition to conventional cigarettes (dual users) were 23 percent less likely than exclusive cigarette smokers to give up tobacco altogether, after accounting for age, tobacco dependence, previous quit attempts and use of pharmacological support.
This too is an observational study, and the researchers acknowledge that their study was small and restricted to healthy men in just one workplace. Smoking status was also self-reported and assessed at a single time point, and successful quitters weren’t asked how long they had stopped using tobacco.
But they point out that those who used HNB products in their study did so because they thought they were less harmful than conventional cigarettes.
“It is possible that the rhetorical phrases by tobacco industries attract and make consumers misunderstand that changing from cigarettes to [HNB products] can provide a healthier environment for themselves and their surroundings,” they suggest.
“Although [HNB products] are misunderstood to be less harmful, they expose users and bystanders to toxicants, and the evidence does not show that [they] will reduce tobacco-related diseases,” they add.
“Given that [HNB products] undermine cessation among smokers without providing health benefits, [they] should not be recommended for any purpose,” they conclude.
In a linked editorial, covering both research papers, Professor Irina Petrache of National Jewish Health, Denver, Colorado, and Esther de Boer of University of Colorado, agree.
“[Both] reports provide impetus to conduct larger randomized validating studies and to assess the impact of [HNB products] on additional health parameters. Their work enriches the mounting evidence that [HNB products] are not safer than [conventional cigarettes], suggesting that any tobacco use should be strongly discouraged,” they write.
April 22, 2021
Cambodia Cracks Down on Heated-Tobacco Products

Photo: IRIS AO from Pixabay
Cambodia’s National Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD) has instructed all relevant ministries and institutions to take immediate action to stop the use and commercialization of heated tobacco products (HTPs), reports The Phnom Penh Post.
“All forms of trafficking, trading and importation of HTPs must be stopped and information on import restrictions must be disseminated to all vendors and the public,” the NACD stated in a directive.
Citing the World Health Organization, the NACD said the use of cigars, electronic nicotine delivery devices (ENDS) and HTPs can lead to serious lung disease and even death. The announcement further said that using these products is also a motivating factor for people to use other illegal drugs.
Cambodia has restricted ENDS since February 2014, but its guidelines did not cover newer HTPs.
Deputy National Police chief Mak Chito said that in the past the authorities had confiscated many of these products. He said that although some other countries consider the use of these products legal, Cambodia does not allow it.
“In Cambodia, there are also bad people who are cheating by using methamphetamines or marijuana [with these devices],” he said.
March 22, 2021
Philippine Senate President: Sell Safer Nicotine Products

Philippine Senate President Vicente Sotto III – Credit: Current PH
In the Philippines, Senate President Vicente Sotto III wants safer nicotine products, such as e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn (HnB) products, to be allowed to competitively compete with traditional tobacco. During a senate hearing last week, the senator asked the country’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to guarantee that the guidelines it will issue for vapor and HnB products are compliant with the law that allowed the sale of safer nicotine alternatives.
Sotto made the call during recent deliberations on the proposed budget of the Department of Health (DOH), where he stressed that FDA regulations for these nicotine alternatives should not make it difficult for them to compete against cigarettes to lessen the number of smokers in the country, according to an article on philstar.com. “We don’t want it to appear that introducing a cigarette product to the Philippines is easier than introducing a heated tobacco product or a vapor product,” Sotto said.
The FDA was tasked to draft the general guidelines for the implementation of Republic Act 11467, which imposed higher taxes on cigarettes and e-cigarettes; and Executive Order No. 106, which bans the manufacture and sale of such products that are not registered or that are adulterated with other substances.
Sotto said he has received letters from some sectors, particularly the e-cigarette consumer groups, expressing concerns over the FDA’s draft guidelines on vapor products and HnB. “Here in the Senate, we, as usual, are concerned with the implementing rules and regulations and guidelines of some government agencies. It has been a big issue with us, because some agencies appear to go beyond what the enabling law provides,” he said.
He warned that FDA regulations might make it more difficult for vapes and HnB to compete against cigarettes, and therefore defeat the purpose of such products to lessen smoking in the country.
He stressed that HnB products are better than cigarettes. “We don’t want the youth and those who don’t smoke to suddenly think of using e-cigarettes and heated tobacco. What we want is for those who smoke to shift to heated tobacco or e-cigs,” Sotto said.
Sotto said studies have shown that 80 percent of people who switched to HnB products never went back to smoking cigarettes again. “I was in London over a year ago and I saw the differences. We have to admit that [HnB] is far different from cigarettes; [HnB] does not have second-hand smoke, but actual cigarettes have,” Sotto said.
Sen. Pia Cayetano, who was sponsoring the DOH budget, said she will remind the FDA that the Senate “is very conscious of their not exceeding their authority. They should just be guided by the law.” Cayetano said she and Sotto “are of like minds that our biggest concern is the youth and what I learned when I went to London was that the reason that in London they can really push for e-cigs is because they have already been successful in preventing the youth from smoking cigarettes.”
Sotto recognized that the government needs to properly regulate these electronic nicotine delivery systems or ENDS and HnB. He, however, pointed out that certain ingredients considered essential for these products are proposed to be prohibited on the FDA draft guidelines.
“For example, there is the prohibition on the use of glycerol and propylene glycol. These are aerosol formers for these products, so if they are banned, the products will not work anymore. If there is no aerosol to inhale, it will make these products unusable, so in other countries they are not banned in e-cigarettes,” he said.
Cayetano said the FDA only pointed out and banned those that are poisonous. She clarified that “they do not ban the other products or ingredients needed to produce that aerosol.”
December 1, 2020
Australia Rejects Tobacco Heating Products

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) in Australia rejected an application from Philip Morris (PM) that would have allowed the sale of heated-tobacco products.

This follows the Australian government’s ban on the import of nicotine-based e-cigarettes. Health Minister Greg Hunt planned to implement the ban beginning July 1 of this year, but the ban has now been pushed back to the beginning of 2021 to allow those who have been using e-cigarettes with nicotine to quit smoking combustibles to get prescriptions and end their addiction.

The ban would make the import of vaporizer nicotine and e-cigarettes allowable only with a doctor’s prescription.

There were 82 submissions in the TGA decision that supported heated-tobacco products, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concluded that PM’s tobacco-heating product “is expected to benefit the health of the population as a whole.” The TGA received submissions from the Lung Foundation, Cancer Council Australia, Australian Council on Health and Smoking, and the National Heart Foundation, though, that stated their concerns regarding public health risks of heated-tobacco products. The TGA ultimately decided there were “significant safety concerns with heated-tobacco products,” according to news.com.au.

“Study after study shows that scientifically substantiated smoke-free products that do not generate smoke, while not risk-free, are a much better alternative for adult smokers who would otherwise continue to smoke cigarettes,” said Tammy Chan, Philip Morris managing director. “It’s time Australian authorities recognize that many adult smokers will continue to smoke cigarettes—the most harmful way of consuming nicotine—unless the government rethinks its tobacco control policy. Smoke-free products can play a role in reducing smoking rates.”

According to Chan, Australia’s stance on smoke-free products is at odds with other countries; heated-tobacco products are available in 50 other countries.
August 24, 2020