Between Smoking And Vaping, There Is Now A Third Way - The Smokeless Cigarette

In what could be the biggest step forward in the tobacco industry in decades, a new product could revolutionize how people smoke and reduce harmful risks significantly.

According to Philip Morris, the makers of Marlboro , this new product heats tobacco rather than burning which means smokers get the same nicotine hit but 90 per cent less of the toxins that come with cigarette smoke, CityA.M. quotes the company.

However, the company stresses that it is not the same as electronic cigarettes which caused a big uproar when it became a trend and triggered concern over the volumes of smoke produced by vapers.

'Unlike electronic cigarettes, which vapourise nicotine suspended in a liquid, this alternative product heats tobacco enough to produce a vapour without burning it, which the company believes makes it much less harmful,' CityA.M. describes the differences.

As most smokers can attest, the taste of tobacco is part of the sensation of smoking and in this new product, the smoker still gets the nicotine but 10 percent less of the harmful ingredients as traditional cigarette smoke.

However, the product which is branded as IQOS is now on limited release and only available in over a dozen markets including Japan, Switzerland and Italy, with a flagship store just launched in central London so our Malaysian readers will not be able to try it out.

"I believe there will come a moment in time where I would say we have sufficient adoption of these alternative products. I hope this time will come soon.

"For us, it’s to offer our consumers the best product we can in a category that we all know is addictive and causes harm.

"Once we have the alternative, as we have today, we offer them the alternative and we will do everything we can to convince people to switch to these products," Philip Morris International (PMI) chief executive Andre Calantzopoulos told the BBC.

According to PMI, the "reduced risk" cigarette is getting a good response from its customers and the company states that over one million cigarette smokers have switched to IQOS since its initial pilot launch.

The response from the anti-smoking lobby and NGOs is to express caution, with lobbyist Action on Smoking Health stating that independent evidence shows the product and ones like it are substantially less harmful than smoking, they should be regulated in the same way.

"On current trends, smoking will kill one billion people in the 21st century, most in poor countries.

"If Philip Morris really want to see the end of smoking they have to stop promoting smoking to new young smokers around the world," Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health said.

- mD

Resource: http://malaysiandigest.com/frontpage/29-4-tile/646090-between-smoking-and-vaping-there-is-now-a-third-way-the-smokeless-cigarette.html