Latest Evidence on the Public Health Impact of Heated Tobacco Products Such as CIGOO and IQOS

Philip Morris released a series of the latest evidence regarding the public health impact of heated tobacco in real life in January 2022.

This evidence comes from various real-world cases globally, electronic reporting data, etc., used alongside toxicological reports and medical clinical trial reports for pre-market review by relevant departments.

Compared to laboratory studies, real-world cases are more complex and realistic, making them very valuable.

IQOS was launched in Japan in 2014 and nationwide sales began in 2016. From 2011 to 2015, domestic cigarette sales in Japan decreased by 1.8% annually, while after the nationwide sales of heated tobacco from 2015 to 2018, tobacco sales decreased by 9.5% annually.

This data indicates that heated tobacco is helpful for smoking cessation.

In an independent study by the American Cancer Society, this phenomenon was analyzed, and they concluded that price and stricter smoking control measures were not the reasons for the significant decline in tobacco sales in Japan; they believe the introduction of heated tobacco is the most likely reason.

However, these do not directly indicate the impact of heated tobacco on public health, so the next point to discuss is the incidence of smoking-related diseases among the public.

In Japan's medical database, the number of cases of smoking-related chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and ischemic heart disease has significantly decreased among the public after the gradual popularization of heated tobacco.

The data in the medical database is impartial and objective, with no possibility of manipulation.

Since 2017, the University of Catania in Italy has conducted a three-year follow-up observation of individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. During these three years, participants underwent three medical examinations to understand their smoking habits and health status, with 19 using heated tobacco and another 19 using traditional cigarettes. Professor R. Polosa revealed the conclusion of the experiment:

The use of heated tobacco (HNB) reduced the number of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease experiencing rapid deterioration by over 40%. Moreover, the health status, respiratory disease symptoms, and quality of life of these users improved continuously over the three years.