Heat-Not-Burn Experience - Guide on Using HEETS

Unlike e-cigarettes, heat-not-burn products including IQOS gently heats up sticks of tobacco instead of burning them. They warm tobacco sticks to a temperature that's high enough to release an aerosol but not enough to cause combustion. They may significantly reduce risk while satisfying users' nicotine cravings.

• HEETS - Tobacco Sticks. What you should know?
• Tobacco stick puffing time.
• Tobacco stick – Components and Ingredients.
• Blends and Flavours

Tobacco sticks known as HeatSticks

The tobacco stick known to IQOS consumers as HEETS or HeatSticks was designed specifically for use with IQOS. Tobacco sticks are made from a select blend of real tobacco, there is no liquid nicotine, IQOS heatsticks contain real tobacco. Taste is a bit different than cigarettes because tobacco is heated rather than burned. The level of nicotine in the aerosol of a tobacco stick is in average 0.5 mg for each variant.

Because IQOS heats the tobacco in specially designed tobacco stick instead of burning it as happens in cigarettes, it produces an aerosol, not smoke, with no “tar”.

How to use tobacco sticks?

• Tobacco sticks should be placed in the Holder, tobacco side down, up to the silver line.
• Make sure to never twist a tobacco stick or you risk damaging the heating blade.
• Tobacco sticks should never be lit with a match or lighter
• The tobacco sticks are designed to only work with the IQOS Holder.
• The electronic Holder heats the tobacco in the tobacco stick.
• Once finished, lift cap before pulling out tobacco stick. Do not twist.
• Partially-finished tobacco sticks should not be re-used.
• Tobacco sticks can be disposed of in regular bins.

Tobacco stick puffing time

HEETS are designed for the same duration and number of puffs as a cigarette, e.g. up to 14 puffs or about 6 minutes. If you stop a usage experience before 14 puffs or 6 min, recharge the holder and use a new tobacco stick.

The Holder has been designed to prevent the overheating of the tobacco in the tobacco stick caused by over-puffing. To continue using IQOS, remove the tobacco stick, recharge the holder and use a new tobacco stick.

As IQOS heats tobacco, the tobacco stick stays the same size because the tobacco is not burnt down. It is normal for the aspect tobacco stick to change after it is heated and has released its flavor. The tobacco leaf’s texture will change after it is heated. The paper surrounding the tobacco changes color or gets moist after the tobacco is heated.

Tobacco stick – Components and Ingredients

Tobacco stick filter

Crimped film inside the filter space: remove excess water vapor from the aerosol. The filter consists of:

• The hollow acetate tube ensures that the assembly of the tobacco stick is maintained upon its insertion into the holder
• The biopolymer-film filter (crimped film inside filter space) is made of Polylactic Acid which is one of the most widespread biopolymers in the world, obtained from sugar cane or starch, it removes excess water vapor from the aerosol and thus is also reducing the perceived aerosol/vapor temperature.
• The mouth piece filter: cellulose acetate filter designed to act as a mouth piece similar to the filter of a cigarette
• The tube, the polymer-film filter and the tobacco plug are wrapped in stick's paper, and attached to a mouthpiece filter with a tipping paper

New aluminum foil in Tobacco sticks

The insertion of the aluminum foil is to prevent the tobacco stick from being lit. The presence of the aluminum foil does not impact the overall chemistry of the aerosol generated by IQOS.

List of ingredients

IQOS tobacco stick contain tobacco, glycerin, water, guar gum, cellulose fibers, propylene glycol, and flavors. Nicotine is naturally present in tobacco. Nicotine is released in the aerosol generated when IQOS is used. Tobacco sticks do not contain GMO Tobacco (genetically modified organisms).

As the tobacco is heated and not burned, IQOS does not generate smoke but rather an aerosol resulting primarily from the evaporation of water, glycerin and nicotine. Glycerin is used in many consumer products (food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics) and is on the European Union’s list of approved food additives. It has also been approved by health regulators for inhalation products. The long term effects of inhaling glycerin are not known but based on the results of short term studies are expected to be much less than from inhalation of cigarette smoke.

IQOS significantly reduces the levels of harmful and potentially harmful constituents formed in the aerosol and inhaled compared to standard reference cigarette specially designed for research purposes.

Blends and Flavours

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More on this coming soon...