What is heated tobacco?

What is heated tobacco? If you haven't heard of heated tobacco, you're not alone. A new study published today by John W. Ayers, an associate professor at the San Diego State University School of Public Health, indicates that this new method of tobacco consumption is poised for explosive growth.
 
What is heated tobacco?

It is one of the latest tobacco products on the market, using battery power to heat tobacco leaves to about 500 degrees Fahrenheit (260 degrees Celsius) to produce an inhalable tobacco aerosol.

Heated tobacco is being introduced to markets around the world, appealing to trendy or potentially health-conscious consumers, Ayers said. In May, the first non-combustible device entered the approval process with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Development Trends

Because non-combustible tobacco products are sold in only a handful of places around the world, little is known about their popular appeal and pricing in future markets like the U.S. Are tobacco control leaders worried about this potential new trend?

Ayers and his colleagues turned to Google search trends to understand the device's appeal in Japan, the first country where it was available nationwide. Common devices include Japan Tobacco's "Ploom Tech," released in March 2016, Philip Morris International's "IQOS," released in April 2016, and British American Tobacco's product released in December 2016. The team focused on internet searches for heated tobacco, including generic terms and major brands, analyzing their relative popularity from 2015 to August 2017.

In Japan, the total number of searches for heated tobacco grew by 1426% in the first year before 2015. Between 2015 and 2017, the number of queries increased by 2956%. Predictions based on observed trends suggest that searches for heated tobacco will continue to grow at the same rate in 2018.

"Heated tobacco products have quickly become wildly popular," said Mark Dredze, a co-author of the study and a computer science professor at Johns Hopkins University. Two years ago, there were virtually no searches for heated tobacco in Japan, but now there are between 5.9 to 7.5 million each month.

Additionally, the team found that interest in heated tobacco in Japan is growing faster than past interest in e-cigarettes. This suggests that heated tobacco is a new market whose popularity may even surpass that of e-cigarettes.

Public Health Challenges

Ayers said millions of people are searching for heated tobacco in Japan each month, and as the product enters new markets, demand will surge globally. It is still unclear how searches will translate into actual demand, he said, but previous research by the vaping team predicted the eventual rise of e-cigarettes.

Joanna Cohen, a faculty member at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Global Tobacco Control, added that many questions remain regarding the potential harms of the product. Given that heated tobacco is a tobacco product, all existing policies designed to protect the public from other tobacco products should be enforced.

Ayers concluded that tobacco control leaders need to proactively address the potential demand for these new products.

"Tobacco control is at a new crossroads," he said. "Leaders can respond rationally to this new data and set regulations, or wait for big tobacco companies to set the rules for them."