Is IQOS Harmful?

  I’ve read a lot online, and pretty much everything says it’s harmful, mostly based on findings from major institutions. So I’ll just share my own experience.

  　　In December 2017, I bought an IQOS Plus at a convenience store in Nagasaki. I was lucky to get one. My girlfriend was always telling me to quit smoking—saying I smelled like smoke, my clothes smelled, and even my mouth smelled. I really had no choice, so I bought it with the intention of quitting. I’ve been using it for two months now. Honestly, I no longer smoke regular cigarettes, though I’m not completely put off by the smell of them yet, especially since there are still heavy smokers in the office. But if you asked me to smoke one, I’d definitely refuse. I just can’t accept the taste of regular cigarettes anymore—it feels like inhaling burning paper. So I’d say it has been a fairly successful substitute.   　　Now, as for whether IQOS is harmful, I think it definitely is to some extent—but absolutely much less so than regular cigarettes.   　　1. It doesn’t have the foul smell of regular cigarettes, but there is still secondhand smoke/aerosol.   　　2. The smell on my hands, hair, and mouth is much better, and my sense of taste seems to have improved too.   　　3. I still have some phlegm in my throat, but it’s nowhere near as uncomfortable as before, and it’s no longer yellow.   　　4. I smoke much less now—basically no more than 15 tobacco sticks a day. Before, I smoked at least a pack and a half of regular cigarettes a day, and after drinking I could smoke so much that I wouldn’t even feel like smoking the next day.   　　So overall, I think it’s a good thing. Quitting smoking is hard, so if nothing else, reducing the harm is still better.