{"id":2657,"date":"2025-05-11T23:07:41","date_gmt":"2025-05-11T23:07:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tcysapc.org\/?p=2657"},"modified":"2025-05-11T23:07:41","modified_gmt":"2025-05-11T23:07:41","slug":"heated-tobacco-products-show-unclear-health-risks-as-evidence-remains-limited","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tcysapc.org\/?p=2657","title":{"rendered":"Heated tobacco products show unclear health risks as evidence remains limited"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"vape\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Heated tobacco products are often marketed by tobacco companies<\/a> as less harmful than cigarettes, but they can pose health risks to users, according to a new review\u00a0<\/a> in the journal Tobacco Control. Evidence on their health risks in people who smoke is limited, sometimes contradictory, and hard to make sense of.<\/p>\n

Heated tobacco products<\/a>\u00a0are\u00a0electronic devices<\/a>\u00a0that heat tobacco so users can inhale nicotine. Common brands include\u00a0IQOS<\/a>, available in the U.S., and Ploom and Glo, sold in other countries.\u00a0Heated\u00a0tobacco products<\/a>\u00a0are different from e-cigarettes, though they may look similar. E-cigarettes, which are also called vapes, heat a liquid containing nicotine but not tobacco, whereas heated tobacco products heat actual tobacco leaf. Heated tobacco products are also different from traditional cigarettes, which burn tobacco rather than heating it. These distinctions matter because it’s the\u00a0burning of tobacco leaf<\/a>\u2014not the nicotine\u2014that directly causes the disease and death associated with\u00a0smoking<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There is limited long-term data about the health harms of heated tobacco products. My colleagues and I analyzed the available data, drawn from 40\u00a0clinical trials<\/a>, that followed participants who used these products for a year or less. We looked at\u00a0molecular changes<\/a>\u00a0in the blood, breath and urine,\u00a0called biomarkers<\/a>, to explore the potential risks of heated tobacco products.<\/p>\n

The studies we reviewed reported changes in 143 different biomarkers, including measures linked to heart disease<\/a>\u00a0and cancer. But drawing clear conclusions from the data was hard because of issues with the available evidence. Of the 40 studies, 29 were funded by the tobacco industry. Furthermore, 31 of the 40 studies were conducted in confined settings, meaning that participants’ activities and their use of the assigned product were controlled. This may not reflect heated tobacco products’ real-world use.<\/p>\n

If heated tobacco products are less harmful than cigarettes, we would expect to see largely beneficial effects in smokers who switched to them. However,\u00a0the evidence we reviewed was inconclusive<\/a>. Though most studies suggested that heated tobacco products might reduce risks of disease compared with smoking, other studies found no difference, or even the potential of increased risk. Compared with quitting smoking completely, use of heated tobacco products had more consistently\u00a0harmful effects<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Few studies have directly compared the effects of heated tobacco products with e-cigarettes. However, many independently funded, longer-term studies have examined e-cigarettes and have shown they can\u00a0help people stop smoking and reduce health risks<\/a>\u00a0in people who switch completely from smoking to vaping.<\/p>\n

Why it matters<\/h2>\n

Heated tobacco products may be coming to a town near you\u2014or already be there. They are already\u00a0widely used in Japan<\/a>. IQOS was\u00a0removed from the U.S. market in 2021<\/a>\u00a0after a court ruled that the product had infringed on an existing patent. However, following a flurry of promotional activities, IQOS\u00a0relaunched in March 2025<\/a>\u00a0in Austin, Texas. Like most heated tobacco product brands, IQOS is owned by one of the largest cigarette companies in the world, Philip Morris International.<\/p>\n

The company claims it wants to bring IQOS to the U.S. market to provide smoking adults a “better alternative<\/a>” to cigarettes. But the science we’ve reviewed on whether heated tobacco products are truly healthier is inconclusive. Our review found inconsistencies in data on health effects, and other research suggests\u00a0these products may not help smokers quit<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Heated tobacco products are often marketed by tobacco companies as less harmful than cigarettes, but they can pose health risks to users, according to a new review\u00a0 in the journal Tobacco Control. Evidence on their health risks in people who … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t