Productos de tabaco calentado con especial referencia a IQOS

Abstract

Heated Tobacco Products (HTP) are new tobacco consumption devices that are presented as a harm reduction product. The most widespread is IQOS by Philip Morris. In the IQOS aerosol, toxic substances are detected in a smaller amount and concentration than those detected in conventional cigarettes, with the exception of some of them. These substances are able of inducing disease. They could modify bronchial epithelial cells and vascular endothelium and could cause additional damages, such as hepatotoxicity. The amount of nicotine in IQOS is very similar to conventional cigarettes, so it is as addictive as a normal cigarette. The concentration of toxic substances emitted to the environment is lower than those of conventional cigarettes, but there is a health’s risk of exposed non-smokers. Most people use HTP as a complement to conventional cigarettes, not as an alternative, becoming dual smokers. IQOS can create new generations addicted to nicotine, in addition to renormalize the tobacco’s use in society. Many Medical Societies of Respiratory Diseases around the world have manifested against the use of HTP, and have proposed that they should be subject to the same regulatory
policies that applied to all tobacco products, in line with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.