Despite the common belief, nicotine, while not harmless, is not a cause of smoking-related illnesses. Nicotine is found in the tobacco leaf, but is also found in small quantities in tomatoes, potatoes and eggplants.
What is actually more harmful is the smoke, which comes from burning tobacco. Because in the combustion process, more than 7000 harmful compounds are created, of which more than 100 are "responsible" for the damage caused to the health of smokers.
"Diseases caused by smoking are the result of harmful substances found in tobacco smoke, not nicotine," explained Mitchell Zeller, director of the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products.
Top manufacturers of tobacco products are aware of burning problems. For more than 15 years, the global leader in the industry, Philip Morris, has been working on the research, development and commercialization of IQOS, a device that warms tobacco by avoiding burning, releasing up to 95 percent less harmful substances than traditional cigarettes.
IQOS uses specially made tobacco with genuine tobacco and has the same level of nicotine and taste as cigarettes, but eliminates the damage that comes from smoke. Since there is no fire, there is no ashes. And where there is no fire, there is no release of harmful substances like smoke.
Philip Morris took a long time to develop the IQOS device. They invested in research and development centers in Neuchatel and Singapore, employing over 450 science, engineering and medical experts who constantly test the impact of this product not only on IQOS users, but also on the people around them.
These tests have proven that IQOS is less harmful to the health of smokers than continuing to smoke traditional cigarettes, and that the use of this heating device does not adversely affect room air quality, and therefore no smoke second-hand.
