Heated Tobacco Products (HTP)
The Reduced Risk illusion
The world’s largest international tobacco companies - Philip Morris International (PMI), British American Tobacco (BAT), and Japan Tobacco International (JTI) – are eager to tell you about their latest product. They have described this product as “less risky” and a “much better alternative” than cigarettes. JTI have labelled it as “reduced-risk” and BAT call it an important milestone on their journey to create “A Better Tomorrow”.
What Are Heated Tobacco Products?
Heated tobacco products (HTPs) heat tobacco in so-called tobacco sticks to produce an inhalable aerosol. Tobacco companies claim that HTPs do not burn tobacco, thus reducing the harmful chemicals generated by combustion. However, research by Auer et al. [LR1] have shown that pyrolysis does take place and smoke is produced. There are several HTP products marketed by PMI, BAT, and JTI, namely IQOS/ILUMA, Glo, and Ploom respectively.
Edited Image from exposetobacco.org
A History of Manipulation
The tobacco industry has a long history of using deceptive marketing strategies to undermine public health efforts, and the rise of HTPs is just the latest example. “We are the factory of doubt”, stated in confidential tobacco industry documents found in the archives of a tobacco company made public by the US court in 1998[LR1] . Recent investigations have shown that since regulations on HTPs are still in development in many places, tobacco companies use the regulatory uncertainty to employ various strategies, including buying science, to block, weaken, or delay effective regulation.
Copyright: at-schweiz.ch
Over 1 Billion HTP Sticks Sold in 2023 in Switzerland – A Worrying Trend
The alarming rise in sales of HTPs has reached a critical point. In 2023, for the first time ever, over 1 billion HTP sticks were sold in Switzerland – a staggering increase from just 13 million sticks in 2015. This represents a nearly 100-fold increase in just eight years. These numbers paint a troubling picture.
In Switzerland, latest data from the Swiss Health Survey showed a decline in cigarette smoking with the percentage of the population who smoke dropping to 24%. While this may seem like progress, it still means that 1 in 4 Swiss people is smoking. Moreover, the nearly 100-fold increase in sales of HTP sticks from 2015 to 2023 should set off alarm bells. This trend indicates a clear shift in tobacco consumption patterns. Traditional cigarettes may be on the decline, but HTP are more than filling the void. Recent independent research has also shown that there isn’t enough evidence to prove that HTPs are safer. The public is being misled into thinking these products are less harmful, while the full long-term consequences of their use are still unclear.[LR1] Independent public health officials, including the WHO, do not consider HTPs as safer than traditional cigarettes.
Why This Matters
Without stronger regulations, public health efforts will be undermined by the tobacco industry’s ability to market HTPs as safer alternatives. We must not allow this deception to go unchecked. This surge in sales represents a serious threat to our progress in reducing smoking rates and denormalising tobacco.
More releases on exposing HTPs to follow in 2025.