What is tobacco heating?

What is tobacco heating? Heat-not-burn products, such as IQOS, heat tobacco instead of burning it. This way, adult users enjoy real tobacco taste, with no fire, no ash and cigarette smell. Read on to find out more about heated tobacco. What is tobacco heating? It all started with a vision for a smoke-free world. After more than 12 years of Research and Development, at Philip Morris International (PMI) we managed to bring this vision to life, by creating our innovative alternative to cigarettes, for adults who would otherwise continue to smoke.

A cigarette has to be lit, in order to be smoked. The tip of a cigarette burns at 600°C, but can reach above 800°C during a puff. It is the action of burning that releases most of the harmful and potentially harmful chemicals into the smoke of a cigarette.

On the contrary, IQOS, PMI’s heat-not-burn device, heats up specially processed tobacco at temperatures up to 350°C, releasing tobacco flavor with no fire and deliverables of combustion, namely ash and smoke. By heating tobacco instead of burning it, IQOS delivers a cleaner tobacco experience, free of the mess, as well as the intense and lingering smell of cigarettes.

IQOS is not risk-free. It contains nicotine, which is addictive.

What are heated tobacco products?

Heated tobacco products, heat-not-burn products or smoke-free, do exactly what their name suggests: they heat tobacco instead of burning it.

There are many heat-not-burn products out there. IQOS is the No1 heated tobacco product in the world*. Equipped with innovative HeatControl™ Technology, IQOS heats tobacco up to 350°C without burning it. This delivers a real tobacco experience, without fire and its products, namely ash and smoke. IQOS produces an aerosol which dissolves quickly and has a less intense and lingering smell than cigarette smoke. It leaves less smell on your hands, hair, clothes and places you go, than cigarettes.

**Source: PMI global estimate of total In-Market Sales of Heated Tobacco Units as of December 2019 (excluding China and US).

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