When it comes to smoking, most people are familiar with traditional cigarettes. They burn tobacco at high temperatures, producing smoke that contains a mix of chemicals, many of which are known to cause serious health risks. But in recent years, heated tobacco products have emerged as an alternative that works differently. Instead of burning tobacco, these devices heat it at lower temperatures to release a nicotine-containing vapor without combustion.

 

This fundamental difference—burning versus heating—has led to growing interest in whether heated tobacco products might be a less harmful option for adult smokers who would otherwise continue smoking. In this article, we’ll explain how heated tobacco products work, how they differ from regular cigarettes, and what that could mean for health and regulation.

 

Why do we have alternatives to cigarettes?

 

Smoking remains one of the world’s most serious public health threats. When tobacco is burned in cigarettes, it releases over 6,000 chemicals—among them, around 100 are known to cause disease or are suspected of doing so, including heart disease, COPD, and various cancers. Each year, millions of people suffer or die from conditions directly linked to smoking, placing a heavy burden on families and healthcare systems.

 

This stark reality has led public health experts to explore harm reduction—a strategy focused on offering safer ways to deliver nicotine for smokers who are unwilling or unable to quit. The principle is simple: if an adult smoker switches to a non-combustible nicotine product, such as a heated tobacco device, they inhale fewer harmful substances than they would from a burning cigarette.

 

While quitting nicotine entirely is still the healthiest option, harm reduction offers a complementary path. For those who continue to use nicotine, switching to scientifically designed smoke-free alternatives could lessen the harm to both individuals and society—provided these products are properly regulated and only marketed to adult smokers.

 

What’s the difference between heated tobacco products and cigarettes

Heated tobacco products (HTPs) offer a fundamentally different way of delivering nicotine compared to traditional cigarettes: they heat tobacco instead of burning it. By maintaining temperatures around 240–350 °C—well below the ~600–900 °C threshold required for combustion—HTPs avoid the production of smoke and drastically reduce the formation of harmful byproducts.

 

An HTP system consists of two key components:

 

Heating device: usually electronic, though variations exist, it precisely controls temperature to prevent tobacco combustion.

 

Tobacco consumables: specially designed sticks or plugs that are inserted into the device and heated to release a nicotine-laden aerosol.

The temperature control is essential—keeping tobacco below burning point ensures combustion doesn’t occur.The Tobacco Heating System heats at controlled temperatures, generating aerosol with nicotine delivery comparable to cigarettes, but with 90–95% lower levels of harmful and potentially harmful constituents (HPHCs) in independent and manufacturer analysis.

 

This contrast represents the core difference:

Cigarettes burn tobacco → produce smoke containing tar, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, benzene, and many other toxic compounds.

HTPs heat tobacco → create aerosol with nicotine but significantly fewer harmful chemicals than cigarette smoke.

In summary, HTPs aim to offer a nicotine experience akin to smoking but with a reduced chemical footprint. That said, while the drop in toxins is substantial, HTPs are not risk-free—some harmful substances remain, and their long-term health effects are still under study.

 

Key Chemical and Health Differences Between Heated Tobacco and Cigarettes

When comparing harmful exposure, heated tobacco products (HTPs) often show significantly lower levels of many well-known toxicants—but they’re not harmless.

 

Chemical differences: lower—but still present

Tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs), potent carcinogens, are typically found at just 3–5% of levels seen in cigarette smoke.

 

Aldehydes (e.g., formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acrolein) are reduced by ~80–99% compared to cigarettes—but some remain at significant levels. Formaldehyde, for instance, reaches 18–74% of cigarette levels.

 

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), like benzo[a]pyrene, are largely absent in HTP emissions—but certain PAHs (e.g., benzo[c]phenanthrene) can be higher than in cigarettes.

 

Carbon monoxide (CO), a combustion marker, is reduced by over 90%, with HTPs often showing no CO in exhaled breath tests.

 

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and tar-like particulates are lower—studies report CO, VOCs, and tar emissions to be around 80–97% lower compared.

 

Are HTPs safe substitutes for cigarettes

The answer is no. Heated tobacco products (HTPs) are often presented as a potential “safer” alternative to conventional cigarettes because they heat rather than burn tobacco, reducing exposure to many toxic chemicals.

 

When you smoke a cigarette, the tobacco burns and creates smoke full of thousands of chemicals, many of which can cause serious diseases. HTPs don’t burn tobacco but heat it to produce a vapor. This vapor usually contains fewer of the harmful substances found in cigarette smoke.

 

However, HTPs still release some harmful chemicals—not as many, but some are still there. Also, they can produce some new chemicals that cigarettes don’t have, and we don’t fully know what effects those might have on health yet.

 

Studies show that people who switch completely from cigarettes to HTPs are exposed to fewer toxins, but the research on whether this leads to better health in the long term is not yet clear.

 

Also, HTPs are not proven tools to help people quit smoking altogether. Many users still continue smoking regular cigarettes alongside HTPs, which reduces any possible benefit.

 

The best choice for your health is still to quit all tobacco and nicotine products completely. If quitting is too difficult, switching fully to HTPs might reduce some harm, but it’s not risk-free.

 

 

Regulatory landscape and market availability of heated tobacco

Heated tobacco products (HTPs) are available in many countries, but regulations vary widely. In places like Japan and South Korea, HTPs are popular and easily accessible. In the U.S. and Europe, authorities like the FDA regulate these products carefully, allowing some to be sold with strict rules.

 

Governments also focus on preventing youth access by controlling marketing and sales. Since HTPs are relatively new, regulations are still evolving as more research emerges.

Before using HTPs, it’s important to check the rules in your area.

 

What consumers should consider before switching to heated tobacco

If you’re thinking about switching from cigarettes to heated tobacco products (HTPs), there are a few important things to keep in mind.

 

First, while HTPs may expose you to fewer harmful chemicals than traditional cigarettes, they are not completely safe. You will still be inhaling nicotine, which is addictive, and other substances that could affect your health.

 

Second, switching only makes a positive difference if you stop smoking cigarettes entirely. Using both HTPs and cigarettes at the same time (called dual use) reduces any potential benefit and may keep your health risks high.

 

Third, HTPs are not proven tools to help you quit smoking altogether. If your goal is to quit nicotine completely, you might want to explore other options like counseling or approved cessation aids.

 

Finally, check the legal status and availability of HTPs where you live, and consider how they fit into your lifestyle and budget.

 

Switching to heated tobacco could be a step toward reducing harm if quitting isn’t an option right now—but quitting all tobacco and nicotine remains the best choice for your health.