Particle emissions from heated tobacco products

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Tobacco Control Research
• Aerosol Science

Background:

• Heated tobacco products (HTPs) are marketed as lower-risk alternatives to conventional cigarettes.
• Understanding particle emissions from HTPs is crucial for public health assessments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify particle emissions, including black carbon (BC) and total particulate matter (PM), from five major HTP brands.
• To investigate the influence of smoking regimes, flavors, and heating temperatures on HTP particle emissions.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an aethalometer for black carbon (BC) and an aerosol monitor for total particulate matter (PM).
• Measured PM fractions (1, 2.5, 4, and 10 μm) under ISO and Canadian smoking regimes for five HTPs (IQOS, LIL, PULZE, ILUMA, GLO) with 15 flavors.
• Assessed method repeatability using 15 sticks per brand/flavor/regime.

Main Results:

• All HTPs emitted particles, with over 99.7% smaller than 1 μm.
• Particle emissions, including BC and PM, demonstrated low repeatability and increased with heating temperature and smoking intensity.
• Black carbon constituted a small fraction of total PM emissions.

Conclusions:

• HTPs generate significant particle emissions, contrary to reduced-risk perceptions, influenced by smoking parameters and flavors.
• PM emissions varied significantly between HTP brands under the ISO regime but not the Canadian regime.
• BC emissions were consistently low and did not differ significantly across brands or regimes.