Composition of heated tobacco product emissions

The composition of the emissions generated from heated tobacco products are generally lower than that found in cigarette smoke. This is due to the comparatively low temperatures, the filter systems, and physical design. The composition of what is produced is complex. The main toxicants found in the emissions of cigarette smoke (i.e., tar, nicotine, carbonyl compounds, and nitrosamines) are also found in the emissions of these products in varying concentrations. The aerosol generated contains levels of nicotine and cancer-causing chemicals that are comparable to regular cigarettes. The emissions contained 84% of the nicotine found in regular cigarettes.

The available research on the mainstream and exhaled aerosol generated by these products is limited, as of 2018. They do not generate side-stream emissions. The exhaled aerosol is highly volatile because it is made up of liquid particles that evaporate quickly. The particle size of their emissions have a median aerodynamic diameter that is somewhat bigger than those found in cigarette smoke. There is a lack of agreement on the composition of the emissions in the documented literature, as of 2018. These products, however, still pose health risks. Lower levels of harmful emissions has been shown, but lowering the risk to the smoker who transitions to using them has not been shown, as of 2018. As a result of the various types of heated tobacco products, the characteristics and effects for each type will be different.

Since the 1960s heated tobacco products were in development by tobacco companies. Safer heated tobacco products that deliver nicotine but limit emissions of tar or carbon monoxide (CO) is a half-century old idea, which had been unsuccessfully market-tested since 1988, first as Premier by the RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) and later as Eclipse (RJR) and Accord Philip Morris International (PMI). Various heated products were reintroduced to the market, as of 2018.