Heated Tobacco (IQOS): Lower nicotine delivery than other e-cigarette technologies

A recent clinical study by researchers at Queen Mary’s University in London sought to compare the delivery of nicotine from different electronic cigarette technologies to tobacco cigarettes. The different technologies were as follows:

1) IQOS marketed by Philip Morris International (PMI) based on the principle of heated tobacco,
2) A pre-filled pod type system from the company Jull (59 mg / ml of nicotine salt),
3) A classic rechargeable e-cigarette whose reservoir was supplied with a liquid at 20 mg / ml of nicotine.

22 vaping patients participated in the study, who were subjected to blood samples at regular intervals to determine the concentration of circulating nicotine and to a questionnaire to determine their level of nicotine deficiency after vaping as well as their attraction to technology. The main results are as follows:

1) IQOS delivers significantly less nicotine than the Juul pod and the tobacco cigarette.
2) In fact, the feeling of lack of nicotine returns faster with the IQOS indicating that the system is not ideal for switching from tobacco cigarettes to this system.
3) On the other hand, the IQOS delivers more nicotine and faster than the rechargeable e-cigarette, but in terms of pleasure and comfort, the vaper much prefers the classic e-cig to heated tobacco.

While this study has certain biases (concentrations of nicotine administered per puff not equivalent from one system to another, different form of nicotine (salt, nicotine base), the study seems to indicate that the heated tobacco technology is not the ideal tool for quitting smoking and / or avoiding double consumption of tobacco cigarettes and heated tobacco.

Nicotine delivery and user ratings of IQOS heated tobacco system compared to cigarettes, Juul and refillable e-cigarettes. A. Phillips-Waller & coll. https://academic.oup.com/ntr/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ntr/ntab094/6275288 by guest on 14 May 2021.